Morality
by The Incorrigible Ammy
Summary: RP between America's Nantucket and me. Arthur bites off a little more than he can chew when he winds up pet to Alfred, halfbreed devil 'extraordinaire.'
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes/: Alright. So I was on Chatango talking with America's Nantucket on there- hereafter referred to as Liz, because I can- when we decided... Well, Iunno what we decided. Messed with a bunch of people. Things got graphic. We decided we had a new OTP (or not, maybe, what say you, Liz?), and this... thing was born. The name and description are meh, but mind you, it was typed out at roughly midnight. MIDNIGHT.**

**Liz plays England (Arthur), annnd... I play everyone else. At least, in this chapter. Eventually, we will create a canon or something, explain some shit, maybe try to make sense of everything. Maybe.  
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**Also this is my first time writing smut, or at least RPing it out, so ignore my fail.  
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**(Also Liz I edited some stuff, feel free to tell me if I need to add or remove stuff or what.)  
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**EDIT/: Now with scene changes!  
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* * *

Arthur Kirkland, otherwise known as Britannia Angel, let out a long sigh as he ruffled out his wings. He was supposedly being sent to Earth for a reported disturbance. Or so his boss said. Taking in a deep breath, Arthur spread out his arms and approached the edge of the platform; closing his eyes and slowly letting himself fall down, down to Earth.

He crept around the city, keeping his wings tucked tightly against his back. Didn't pay to let it become an easy grab. His wings were his _livelihood_, man, you couldn't take that away! Especially not when it was only his third time on the surface, breathing in scents other than brimstone and decay. Well, alright, there were better smells down there too, but it wasn't like he-

Something glowing caught his eye. He had no real reason for being up there other than he was bored, and chasing after the glowy thingy seemed like an entertaining prospect. His wings snapped out with a leathery crack, alerting the creature- a small, delicate woman, maybe six inches tall, with gauzy clear wings- that she wasn't alone. It was too late, anyways; Alfred F. Jones, or Sweet Devil as he preferred, was an efficient hunter, perhaps a little slow, but he made up for that with brute strength. His hand encased her body like a vice, allowing her to scream and struggle while slowly crushing her. What fun, he decided, watching silvery blood drip down his gloves.

Arthur could see a wide area of green start to show up clearly as he swiftly darted down, hair being blown everywhere. Why did he have to be the one - out of thousands of other angels out there - to do this? Bloody hell. He grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest as he neared the ground, spreading out his wings quickly to descend slower until his wood sandals touched the grass with a soft _tap_. Now, where could this 'disturbance' be? Arthur frowned, creasing his abnormally thick eyebrows and tucking his wings tightly behind his back, cautiously taking a few steps behind a building.

He let the fairy go, noting with delight that he'd torn a wing. Immediately, she tried to fly off, heading for any sanctuary she could while he licked the blood off of his hand. Done with that, he crept after her in her search for a pure creature.

And was he ever rewarded for his patience. Like sensed like, after all, and after a few strained beats she headed off as fast as she could towards a building. Alfred's eyes, slitted and catlike, lit up as he recognized the scent. A pure creature, indeed- and wasn't it his lucky day? An _angel. _He kept to the shadows as the fairy headed for the angel, sinking lower and lower until, only a few feet away, her destination in plain sight, she landed on the ground, crumpling over, her aura still glowing faintly. And now to wait.

Arthur was about to peek around the building until he saw a flicker of light in the distance. A recruit fairy, he thought. They were usually sent down to Earth to observe and report. But something seemed a little... off about her. Arthur crept cautiously to the fading glow of the seemingly-lifeless fairy, kneeling down and cupping his hands together to carefully pick it up. He sighed. What a shame. Whatever was out there must have been surprisingly strong...

"You should let go of that. She's still alive and I'm feelin' kinda peckish." Alfred stepped out from his hiding place, fingering the horns on his head thoughtfully. They were tiny, indicating just how young he was- not a century old. He wasn't old enough to have even an imp for backup, let alone something that might actually help should the angel prove to be a challenge. Oh, well- good thing he _adored _challenges. "You gonna hand her over?" The fairy twitched a little, opening her eyes feebly.

Arthur tensed. Could this be him...? Looking up, he flinched a little. "W-why should I?" he asked shakily, keeping the injured fairy close to his chest as he got to his feet. Then he noticed how tall this mysterious creature was to him. Arthur blanched, taking a few steps back so he wasn't so close. "Are you the one who did this to her...?"

He laughed, waggling his fingers. "Who else? Now, c'mon, before I get mad." His tail twitched, practically tying knots into itself, he was so excited. His heart beat quickly; he just loved it when people showed their fear so easily. Alfred continued stepping towards him until they were only a few inches away. Speaking of which, he was at least two inches taller and a bit broader in the shoulders. This angel would have to hope they were faster than, him, then. He grabbed the angel's wrists, prying the fingers open and plucking the fairy out by the wings, earning a whimper of pain from her. "And what do they call you, eyebrows?" he purred, releasing the other's wrists and adjusting his glasses carefully.

"Ah!" Arthur exclaimed as his wrists were twisted, suddenly letting out an irritated growl at the devil's comment. "S-shut your damn mouth and give her back..." He rubbed his wrists, feeling a light blush creep upon his cheeks. He hated being commented on by his eyebrows. So what if they were big! It gave him character! ... Right? Arthur shook his head, getting rid of the thoughts. He was just about ready to take out his wand; in case things started to get rough.

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Talking back to a devil? My, my..." His tail twitched more as he cradled the fairy gently in both of his hands, smirking wide enough to reveal his fangs in all their glory. "I was just referring to you as that, not like I have yer name, bruh." His tongue flicked out, dabbing at the blood oozing out of her crushed ribcage before he finished the deed, hands suddenly clamping shut and twisting in opposite directions. There was a nasty crunching noise, a cut-off squeal, then he dropped the broken body to the ground, hands nearly covered with silver-coloured blood.

Arthur winced at the bone-chilling noise, not daring to even look at what just happened. Instead, he clasped his hands together and chanted silently, a common ritual angels do to send the soul of the passed away back to the Heavens. After he was done, Arthur looked up once again at that wretched devil, grimacing as he reached down into his satchel - _not _a purse - and pulled out his wand, gripping it tightly. "I'll make you pay for that..."

"Oh, no. I don't think so." Alfred slid his gloves off, revealing black, pointed nails, stretching his wings to their full span. He shoved the gloves into the pocket of his jacket, cracking his neck. "That wand ain't exactly fair, you know. Don't pick on children, huh?" Still, he shook himself, feeling his pulse throb in his neck. "You sure you want to do this? I've been told I'm _incredibly _strong for my age and status."

"I'll do whatever it takes," Arthur said, keeping the grimace on his face. "Just as long as I get my revenge." Truthfully, he really wasn't sure he could do this. After all, he was rated one of the weakest angels. But of course, that's out of thousands.

He took a step back, not out of fear, but to create a bit of space between them. "Then come get me, bro!" he laughed, jumping up, wings windmilling awkwardly for a few seconds- there weren't too many wide-open places underground without good, warm currents, and there were no currents so close to the ground- before he managed to start climbing into the air. Alfred hoped the stories weren't true, that angels were fairly silent fliers, because devils certainly weren't quiet.

Arthur clenched his hands around the wand, quickly unhinging his clean, white wings. He spread them out, taking a few swift steps before full-out running. Then he leapt high into the air and put his arms out, trying to gain some momentum as he caught a drift. He might've been one of the weakest angels out there, but he certainly wasn't the slowest. Arthur kept his eye on the devil, making sure he didn't get out of reach as he picked up more speed.

Alfred continued going straight up, trying to find the perfect current that would make flying just a _breeze_. In the moonlight, his wings glinted, making him an obvious target; that should have been warning enough. Not the fastest devil out there, he made up for it with endurance. Although, the angel was a pretty obvious site himself. "What'cha gonna do with that little stick, huh? Poke me to death?" he taunted, catching that beautiful river of air and rejoicing silently.

Arthur grunted irritably. "Shut up. Don't call it a stick!" he growled, riding the air current higher to get a better glimpse of his target, who seemed to be getting quite noticeable. His wings flitted in complete silence as he shot upwards, relishing in the cool air that sifted through his feathers.

"It's a stick, it's a stick~!" he crooned, sticking his tongue out. He drifted away, forcing himself ever higher until he lunged forwards, tucking his wings back to dive at his foe. Alfred needed to break the wand, he knew that- yes, he could use magic as well, but he wanted to have the advantage.

Grumbling, Arthur flipped his wand in front of him and was just about to cast a spell until he saw a glint reflect out of the corner of his eyes. He managed to swiftly move out of the way before he was hit, sighing in relief. But his hands felt strangely empty as he flexed them. "What the..."

Alfred cackled, spiraling higher, holding the wand aloft. It felt warm to the touch, like it was reacting to the heathen holding it. "Look what I got~!" he sang, twirling it about on his finger like it was a baton before grabbing it with both hands, raising his knee up. With a giggle, he slammed it down, snapping the wood in half, holding the pieces in his hands. "You're too la-ate!"

Arthur's eyes widened in shock, whimpering as his wand was broke in half. He slapped his hand on his forehead and seethed, his strength lowering greatly. "Y-you bloody fool .." he shuddered, still managing to keep himself hovering in the air. Taking his hand away, Arthur clenched both his hands into fists and with one last burst, he charged at the devil. "YOU DAMN FOOL!"

Alfred just sat there, dropping the pieces and allowing the angel to tackle him. He wrapped his arms around the angry creature, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug- though the bone-crushing part might have been intentional. "Meanie~! Of course I'm damned, but you don't need to rub it in my face!" Just for kicks, he leaned forwards, nibbling the other's ear.

Arthur let out a soft squeal as he was squished into a... hug? He struggled vigorously with all the strength left in him, finding it a little hard to breathe as he was 'crushed'. Then a shiver ran down his spine, chilling him from the inside. Had he just nibbled on his ear? "Nghh... l-let go!" he screamed, kicking his legs.

Alfred giggled, looking and sounding much like a child told he could have as much candy as he wanted. "Shh, shh," he hummed, rubbing his back and pulling out another feather. "You'll be fine..."

"Nnn! S-stop it!" Arthur shrieked, writhing in complete agony. "It hurts, it hurts!" A few tears slipped out from the corner of his eyes as he buried his face deeper into the other's chest.

Alfred sighed, deciding he should stop while he was ahead- though, one more feather couldn't hurt, right..? With that, he plucked his third and final feather, adding it to the two others he held. "Fiiine... buzzkill," he muttered.

Arthur shrieked again, jerking his body as another feather was yanked out of him. He reached his hands out to wipe his eyes and grimaced, pushing back on the devil's chest again harder. "W-what was that for ...? It hurt!" He started to struggle again, twisting his body around and trying to pull away.

The struggling was getting to be annoying; just because of that, he grabbed _two_ feathers, tugging on them warningly. "Stop," Alfred growled, shaking his head. "You keep doing this and I'll do my best to hurt you worse."

Arthur paused, whimpering as he heard the threat. He leaned back and crossed his arms, grumbling. "Why won't you let me go?" he said, wondering what his boss might think of him for being out for so long, plus the recruit fairy not reporting back. "I'm starting to get a bloody cramp..."

"You have a lot more to worry about then cramps, bro." With that, Alfred shook his head, hands retreating to grab the angel's arms, clamping down as tight as he could without breaking something. "Tell me. Why shouldn't I kill ya, huh? Like I killed that fairy? I'd be the youngest devil to have killed an angel- hell, I don't think I'm even fifty yet." He chuckled grimly, eyes narrowing. "I do want to kill you, though..."

"W-what...? No!" Arthur's eyes widened in fear, wincing at his arm being forcefully gripped. "You can't kill me! Y-you just can't!" he screamed, another round of tears welling up in his eyes as he tugged at his arm. "I don't want to... p-please..." A few tears rolled down his cheek as he quickly used the back of his hand to wipe them.

Alfred giggled, leaning forwards until their noses touched. "No one wants to die, of course." He frowned however, pulling back. Dammit... He didn't know why, but he hated seeing crying creatures, no matter what. Watching their pain? Certainly. But not if their tears were those of sadness. He blamed it on his mixed blood. Sighing, he swatted at the angel's hand, brushing the tears away. "Stop it now. You're not in too much pain right now, don't you fuck'in _dare_ cry." Stupid mother deciding she liked a human making him get all weird over people being sad... Sometimes he hated it.

Arthur sniffled, continuing to wipe his eyes until his hands were pushed away. "W-wha...? But it did hurt!" he tried to protest without starting to cry again. Damn himself for being so sensitive. Why did angels have to be so soft and girly? Arthur certainly wasn't girly. He grunted irritably. "Nn... s-stop touching my face ..."

"Shut up before I decide to scratch your eyes out," Alfred snarled, baring his teeth angrily. Honestly! The few times he tries to be nice to angels- to supposed 'holy' beings in general- and he's rebuffed. "I think they'd look better on the ground, anyways." He removed his hand anyways, snorting and looking slightly offended. Maybe he should just kill him anyways. Messing around wasn't that fun anymore now.

Arthur jumped at the sudden snarl. Had he done something wrong? Well, no matter, he thought, still trying to get away. He had to get back to Heaven soon. "Uhm... w-will you let go of me, now? I have to head back..." He lowered his head a little. "I-I'm sorry."

He sighed. He'd started off pleasantly frightening, and now... God, the other devils would never let him live it down if they knew. Maybe Alfred would blame it on the fact that the sun was rising. That was it, when the sun rose his skills fell. "Why are you apologizing? What, did you _enjoy _our little rendezvous?" he sneered, digging his pointed nails into the angel's skin. "What's your rush, huh?"

Arthur let out a squeal and cringed, reeling his arm away. "No, I didn't," he said, still sniffling. "I didn't enjoy it at all." Or had he? He hoped to God he hated it. "I have to go because it's getting late. That is, unless, you're wanting me to stay." He meant for that last sentence to be sarcastic. He really didn't want to be here anymore.

Alfred tugged on his arm, shaking his head. "Hey! I have an idea, broham!" he cried, ignoring everything else the angel was spluttering, dragging him to the edge of the building. "I'll show ya how devils are superior in their flight skills!" With that, he snapped his wings out, leaping off the edge and not even bothering to try to flap, still clutching his prey with one hand.

Arthur grimaced. He felt like the devil was just stalling him now. "What's your ideaAAAA!" His voice hitched as he was suddenly lifted into the air, not giving him the chance to snap out his own wings. "W-what is the meaning of this!" he gasped, struggling to get his wings out.

"Admit it, bruh! I'm a better flyer!" Alfred liked to think he was when he wasn't carrying additional weight, swinging the creature about gleefully. He tilted himself, pulling out of his dive when they were mere inches from the concrete, straining to ride up. This was faintly annoying, but oh, well. It would only build his strength if it didn't kill him!

"L-let go of my arm!" Arthur begged, getting a little scared as he was just hanging in the air. His wings were having difficulty opening, which made him panic even more. Then it sunk into him "On second thought ... don't let go." He shakily reached his other hand out and grasped the devil's arm with all his might.

Alfred beamed, loosening his grip. "'Let go of my arm'? You can't change your mind so easily!" He forced himself ever higher, gritting his teeth as his arm felt like it was going to be wrenched right out of his shoulder. "You totes need to lose some weight, though!" he grunted, releasing his grip entirely.

"What! Are you calling me fa-" Arthur was cut off by the sound of wind rushing past his ears. He couldn't have ... Had he let him fall? Looking down, Arthur screamed and furiously attempted to bring out his wings again. "Dammit!" he cursed, keeping his toga down as he fell. He wanted to cry again, but he knew he had to quit doing that sooner or later, so he just took in a deep breath and shut his eyes tightly.

Alfred watched, hovering there as best as he could before spiraling downwards, stretching his arms out. "Here we go! A better angle, hnn?" he asked, doing his best to catch the falling angel bridal-style. Why? Because he could, dammit, that's why. "What'choo got under yer tunic, huhhh? Little secret-secret?" he cooed, looking amused.

Arthur continued to whimper loudly, chest heaving as he breathed heavily. Then he felt two hands grab him from under. He opened his eyes slowly, starting to blush as he made eye contact with the devil. "W-what ... was that about?" he panted, pulling down more of his toga and blushing deeper. "This is nothing for you to look at ..."

"You blush too much," was the devil's first statement, tilting his head to the side in what he hoped was a 'charming' manner. His second statement was: "You said to let you go, then not ta let ya go, so I figured, it wouldn't be very heroic of me to not fulfill both wishes! Pop's always tellin' me..." He trailed off. No way was he talking about his father in front of _this _thing. "'Sides, I'd need to report to the ole boss 'bout my achievement. And dude, whatever's under yer toga ain't nothing I've never seen before." As if to prove the point, he reached over, lifting it up completely.

"I can't help it," Arthur said, his face completely flushed a deep red. He really couldn't. After all, he was supposedly the only male angel that could _actually _blush. He always got picked on by that. But that's another story. Arthur suddenly tensed as the devil lifted up his tunic, immediately stretching out his arm to try and tug it back down. "D-don't look!" he snapped, getting even more flushed in the face.

"Yes you can," Alfred replied promptly. He hadn't even been aware that it was possible for angels to blush. Weren't the males supposed to be all stoic and whatnot? Still, it amused him vaguely. As did blatantly disobeying what he was told to do, taking a quick peek between the angel's legs. "Awh, how cute," he sneered. "Wittle angel dude's got a surprise! I'd devour it if I had the time, but..." He glanced at the rising sun, dumping the other onto a nearby roof, "Pop's flower shop totally opens soon, and who am I to give him anything other than a devilishly good time?" He smirked dangerously, hopping down and searching the buildings, clearly in hunting mode.

He picked a bad day to go commando, didn't he? Arthur gritted his teeth and finally pulled down his toga, only to be dropped down on to of a roof. "H-hey!" he called out, crossing his legs as he sat. "Are you just going to leave me here?" Well, maybe that wasn't that bad. He could finally get off this planet and back to Heaven; he had so much information to report back to his boss.

He turned around in the air, hands on his hips. "What, ya wanna come with me as I harass mortals?" Alfred rolled his eyes, continuing along his way, eventually abandoning flying for walking. He pulled out his gloves, shaking the blood off before slipping them on. Now to find a good place to disguise himself as a mortal...

Arthur shook his head. "No thank you," he mumbled to himself, standing up to see if he could stretch out his wings this time. Luckily they did and he fluffed them out, puffing out his chest as he took a few running steps. He quickly propelled himself into the air with one powerful leap and shot himself straight into the blue sky, soon disappearing into the clouds. Arthur had so much information to spill to his boss.

* * *

The angel drew her wings closer, pursing her lips as she inspected the paperwork. That idiot was supposed to be arriving soon- he was late, so she'd be docking points for lack of quality there. He'd better have his wand, too, or else she'd have a field day with removing points. After all, she was a seraph- dammit, she was going to enjoy the benefits of lording over everyone else!

Arthur quickly reached up to the platform and tucked his wings to his back and dashed as fast as he could through the hall. He was late, so late! What would his boss say? Surely he would have points taken off for being late. After running down the hall, Arthur grasped the doorknob that was at the end of it and yanked it open, bursting through. "T-terribly sorry I'm late, boss!" he panted. "The mission took longer than expected!"

She held up a finger for silence, setting her papers down carefully and looking up at him in disdain. "You are ten minutes late, just so you know. Tardiness is not excusable; nor is a disruptive entrance. As usual, you receive a low score." She sighed, shaking her head. "You also smell of devil. Your mission was to _scout out,_ not to interfere- in fact, that stench isn't even..!" She sighed, eye twitching. "Please tell me he or she didn't have the upper hand."

Arthur frowned. It wasn't usually he got low grades ... was it? His ears suddenly perked up as he heard 'devil' and got fidgety, lowering his head in embarrassment an blushing lightly. "He ... uh, yes, he was the upper hand ..." he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Christ, this was so embarrassing ... it wasn't like he _chose _to interfere with that damned devil. Just a coincidence.

She nodded thoughtfully, hand straying to a china figurine of a pig she had on her desk- a gift from an admirer, perhaps. She gripped it tightly, raising it up and smashing it against her desk with a screech. "Please tell me you're joking! I should _like_ to think that even one of my weakest charges can best a _half-breed_ _devi_l!" The scent wasn't pure at all; a mixture of licorice and human. She ran her hands through her hair, gripping it and trying her hardest not to rip it out. Half-breeds were looked down upon; usually they were raised among mortals with a glamour covering everything up. They weren't normally allowed in public, and were generally the weakest of their species. She stared at him, breathing heavily.

"I-I'm sorry!" Arthur tried to apologize again as his boss raged. "I swear to God, it wasn't my fault!" He probably shouldn't have swore. Now he'd have to spill everything he knew. "He... he confronted me first. T-the recruit fairy! He killed it! I tried to stop him, I did..." Do not cry, do _NOT _cry, he repeated to himself. He didn't want to look even weaker in front of his boss. Sure, he's done it millions of times before, but this was a serious situation he was stuck in and it would just ruin the moment. Plus, he could feel multiple eyes glaring at him.

"Just- just SHUT UP!" She massaged her temples, one eye opening. "He killed a recruit fairy..? Most just torture the poor things, but... killed it?" She frowned; this was a problem. That half-breed... "You've encountered devils before- I should know, I had to bail you out that one time. _My _boss nearly killed me for messing with the sword. Since you have adequate experience, how strong would you say he was?" She pulled out some more papers, scribbling down notes. Next time, she'd have to send someone stronger to eliminate him, then. "What did he look like, as well?"

Arthur took a deep breath. He remembered that day. But now's not the time to reminisce; he had to focus. "Uhm... he was pretty strong," he explained to his boss. "Black hair, small horns and quite-" He stopped himself. Was he really about to say 'handsome'? Now he just felt more embarrassed, blushing lightly. "... rowdy." Gah, stop blushing! he told himself inwardly, rubbing his cheeks and shaking his head.

Small horns... She pulled out her book, trying to figure out what that meant, when she paused, narrowing her eyes further. "You're blushing. Don't tell me you're attracted to him..." She sighed. "Though that may shed some light as to who- or what- the mother is." She clicked her tongue, locating the information quickly. "Can you give me an estimate as to the exact length? That should tell me the rough age." She hoped it meant that the half-breed was old. She hoped to her boss, God.

His blush grew deeper. "O-of course I don't," he lied, crossing his arms to his chest. So what if he did; it wasn't like it was the end of the world, right? "Um... anyways," Arthur cleared his throat nervously. "They were pretty small, judging by his size..."

She rolled her eyes. "Riiight. You aren't." She continued reading, the corner of her mouth twitching. It was fairly impressive, the fact that she didn't just kill him outright. "I need a guess at to the LENGTH! How many inches! How thick were they! How much do they taper!" Angrily, the seraph slammed the book down, pointing at him. "Listen. You will trail him, do you understand me? Track him down. We need as much information on this _half-breed _as we can get- and just because you think he's hot, doesn't mean you can sleep with him!" The last part probably wasn't necessary, but she couldn't wait to see if it'd make him squirm.

Arthur was startled at his boss's outburst, continuing to blush as he heard her comment. Sleep with the devil? AS IF. It was just a harmless crush, is all! Wait, did she say he was going back to track him again? Well, at least it won't be as stressful the second time. At least, that's what he hoped for. "Yes, ma'am." Arthur said, squirming a little as he fidgeted with his fingers.

Sighing, the woman stood up, eyeing him critically. "I want you to do two things," she said quietly, cleaning up the shards of porcelain pig and tossing them. "One. I want you to show me your wand. Two. I want you to put on underwear." She was only guessing, of course- but it seemed like something Arthur would do, after all.

Arthur's eyes widened. "My... wand?" Oh crap. That cursed devil had broke it when they were quarreling a few hours back. And underwear? "Uh... see, about my wand... it kind of broke." He prepared himself to get yelled at, raising his hands in front of his face.

Her expression went strangely blank. "Arthur Kirkland, Britannia Angel, whatever you want to go by- get out," she said calmly, picking up her papers. "Go get another wand and go track that half-breed." Even with the disturbing calm, the hyphenated word rolled off her tongue practically dripping with scorn. "Remember to adopt a glamour to hide your wings and wear appropriate clothing. Now, get out before I have an aneurism-heart attack-seizure combo."

Arthur nodded slowly. "Y-yes ma'am..." he mumbled, giving a small salute and walking back towards the door, grasping the knob and quickly ambling out as fast as possible. Christ, what was with her? Arthur's never seen her that furious with him before. But no matter; she'll probably be back to normal later. Now, it was off to change into different clothes for Earth again, where he was once again going to be 'tracking' the devil.

* * *

Down on Earth, the sun had risen on a thankfully beautiful day. Down on a specific _part _of Earth, an older man- maybe forty or fifty, with blue eyes and blonde hair- hauled a crate full of flowers about, much to the dismay of a much younger, near-identical facsimile. "Pops, c'mon, let me help with that!" the younger whined, looking kinder without threatening fangs and slitted eyes, wearing a more genuine smile instead of a smirk.

"Nonsense, Alfred, I can do this!" the man laughed, though it was clear his knees were killing him. After all, a flower shop only had one grand opening, right?

Meanwhile, back in Heaven, Arthur had just put the finishing touches on his disguise; a typical white dress shirt with some sleek black pants. It wasn't often he dressed up, just in special occasions. He turned to his side and checked his back. No wing bulge, that was good. With that, he flipped out his newly made wand and twirled it around him once, allowing himself to hover. It was going to be a long way back down to Earth, considering the fact he couldn't use his wings. Arthur neared the end of the platform and took one step, descending slowly down to the blue planet, nervously thinking about the devil.

Neither Alfred- ostensibly in mortal guise- nor 'Pops' noticed anything falling out of the sky; both were too busy reorganizing the daisies in the flowerbeds outside of the shop. Alfred himself was up to his elbows in dirt, trying to drink from a precariously-perched cup on a stool simultaneously. At least he looked like he was enjoying himself, even when the contents- Coca-Cola, probably- went spilling all over himself and the daisies. "Awh, man! Pops, could ya get me another? Then I'll tell ya how Mom is!" Despite everything, he was still wary- if he saw that angel again... For something like that to see him mingling among humans so willingly... It was embarrassing.

Arthur kicked his legs to descend faster, getting closer to the ground. Once he touched the concrete, he made his way behind a small building and peeked through the small window. Ah, there he was. That damned devil was ... gardening? Confused, Arthur slipped around to the side of the house to get a better look. Sure enough, he was kneeling down, attending to what seemed like a bed of daisies. He wanted to laugh; seeing what he thought was a fearless and menacing devil was playing with pretty flowers! Arthur did actually laugh, quickly covering his mouth before it got any louder.

Alfred heard the laughter, whirling around angrily and throwing the cup in the angel's direction. It shattered against a building as he panted, looking about. He certainly looked different when blonde; less threatening, perhaps. "Who laughed, huh? Come on out, bro!" he spat, chest heaving. The man from earlier came out, frowning.

"Alfred, you need to learn to calm down," he said gently, going over to pat the devil on the back. Alfred's eyes flashed dangerously- in fact, it looked like he was about to rip the man in half when...

He straightened, laughing and dusting the dirt off of his hands. "Yer right, pops! Sorry 'bout that, I'll reimburse ya for the cup- ya just know how I get when I think people are makin' fun of me. You know me, a real rabble-rouser, surprised I ain't been kicked outta Hell yet." Still laughing, he walked inside the shop while the man peered about, frowning slightly.

Arthur jumped as he heard the glass shatter, smirking a bit and giggling silently. He slowly poked his head around the building, blinking a few times to find that the devil had disappeared. Where had he gone? Inside? Now how was he going to get in there? Arthur pondered for a moment, thinking of an idea. Then he suddenly got one. Giggling, he sneakily made his way to the other side of the small building and peeked his head out again, frowning. Damn, there was someone blocking the entrance. Maybe a distraction? No, he wasn't good at those. What to do...

The man frowned, going back inside. Their voices could be heard faintly, along with the hissing sound of a soda being opened. "Alfred, you need to control your temper- sometimes I think you take after your mother like that. She threw fits at the drop of a hat..." He sighed.

Alfred shrugged, chugging the soda quickly. "Well, it ain't like I took after her in looks, amirite?" he laughed, beaming. "'Sides, I smelled a rat there- heard a rather familiar one, too. Listen. You go finish up the flower displays in the back, a'ight? And I clean up everythin', wash myself up, play the host." The man nodded, heading deeper into the store while Alfred growled to himself, looking mutinous.

Arthur tapped his chin. "Hmm..." he hummed, slowly making his way from behind the building until he was in the house his target was in. He laughed again, finding all of this just hilarious. The devil was half-aware that he was being stalked, which made Arthur giggle. He rounded the other side of the house, scooting cautiously across the front of the building until he was as close as he could get to the front door. Now to think of a way to get in... hmm.

Alfred washed the grime off of himself, glad he'd chosen to take off his bomber jacket. The scent of all those flowers made him gag, but if his father liked them, then, well... He knew his mother definitely did- was Papa Jones really trying to bring her back..? He smiled faintly before scowling, a stronger scent than pollen catching his attention. Soundlessly, he crept towards the front door, poking his head out and spotting the angel easily. Or rather, guessed the location, judging by the fact the scent was coming from it the strongest. "Dude. Why're you stalking me? I let ya go, didn't I?"

Arthur looked to his left and jumped back, at bit startled at the devil's sudden appearance. He was getting scared easily lately. Damn it. "I wouldn't call it stalking..." he said, scratching the back of his head. "I was actually sent back down here by my boss. I didn't really have a choice." His eyes darted back and forth nervously, refusing to look the devil in his eyes. And then he was blushing. Again. Damn it all, why can't he do this normally?

Clearly, Alfred wasn't in the mood for teasing or playing around. He stalked over, picking the angel up by the front of his shirt and slamming him against the building. "Look," the devil hissed, eyes flashing once more. "Today. Is. Special. Do you understand, bro? Earlier, yeah, we were all buddy-buddy 'n crap like that, but when ya go intrudin' in me 'n my father's time together..." He chuckled darkly, tightening his grip on the shirt. "I ain't a nice 'Mister Devil' kinda dude. I'm a hero when my dad needs it, I'm a hero when my bros need it, but not when a puny little angel who blushes waaay too much interferes. Got it?"

"H-hey!" Arthur exclaimed as he was pushed against the wall by his shirt. "I-I told you, it wasn't my choice to come back!" he tried to protest, fighting back tears. He writhed uncomfortably, feet not able to touch the ground. Arthur was absolutely frightened at the devil's sudden mood change. All he could sputter out was multiple 'I'm sorry's and shut his eyes tightly, hoping he wouldn't attempt to hurt him again.

"Ya coulda still disobeyed orders. And even if ya couldn't, I ain't one for fairness, y'know?" Alfred leaned in, only to recoil sharply as a window near them was thrown open, someone's head poking out of it.

Papa Jones frowned as Alfred hastily let go. "I honestly hope you two are just roughhousing. Now, invite your friend- maybe he can be the first to buy a flower from me!" Laughing, he closed the window again. The devil sighed, but perked up, practically dragging the angel in as per his father's orders.

Arthur craned his neck to see who was talking. It was that man he saw earlier, blocking the door. "Uhm... who is- AH!" He didn't get to finish, due to the devil practically dragging him inside. "Christ, what the..." Grimacing, Arthur stood up straight, wrenching his body out of the other's grasp. "I can walk myself." he muttered under his breath, fixing his shirt.

Alfred snarled, roughly elbowing the angel and shaking his head. "You're just lucky I don't decide to tear you limb from limb," he muttered, ignoring the man's glares. "Pop, if ya need me, I'll be... doin' stuff. Yeah, doin' stuff in my room, 'kay?" That sounded wrong- what he was really going to do was look at pictures of his mother- but the man seemed to get it, nodding as the taller of the trio left the room, scrutinizing the angel carefully and still clutching a bouquet of lilies.

Arthur winced as he was elbowed, clutching his side. "Ow... what was that for?" he said, looking up at him. He noticed the devil had flowers in his hands as he followed him to his room. "What are those for? And why are you taking them in your room...?" Was he asking too much questions? He hoped not.

Alfred snorted, setting the flowers down and shoving the angel. "Stop following me! Jesus H. Murphy, bro!" He looked irritated, not at all cheery as he had been when he was alone tending to the flowerbed. "Ya gonna laugh at me, huh? Ya feedin' information to yer superiors 'bout my weaknesses, huh?" With that, he slammed the door behind him hard enough to rattle pictures on the other side. The man sighed, shaking his head.

"Never seen him get like this before, even when we've fought... And I have several scars from when he loses control. Go figure."

Arthur jumped as the door was shut in his face. What was with him? "Was it something I said...?" he said to himself, creasing his thick eyebrows. Upon hearing the voice behind him, Arthur swerved his head around. "He... he's hurt you before? H-how?" His face flushed again. Why was he so concerned about that damned devil?

The man chuckled a little, picking up the lilies and putting them where they belonged before surveying the store with a proud sigh. "My son's... different, you know? I like to think he's a nice guy, but his temper is..." He shook his head, looking over the angel. "And the people he cares about, strangely, tend to bring out the worst in him. At least, that's what I think... I've only seen him a few times before- his mother disappeared shortly after we realized she was pregnant- so I don't know much about him..." Absently, he rubbed his shoulder; a few lacerations could be seen under the collar, at least a few years old.

Arthur frowned. "I-I'm sorry," he apologized subconsciously, putting his hand over his mouth. Wait. He gets moody around the ones he cares for? Just now, he was... A blush came across Arthur's face again. He _does_care about him, doesn't he? "Um... d-do you know what happened to his mother...?" he asked, deciding to get a little more information on the devil. After all, he didn't want to go back empty-handed and hear his boss scold him again like she did yesterday.

The man chuckled, shaking his head. "It's fine. Or, maybe he gets upset when his ideas are challenged... I do that all the time..." Shrugging, he gave up on that, glancing at the angel and noticing the blush with a raised eyebrow. "His mother? No, I don't- well, I sort of do. Alfred gives me messages from her, but won't tell me what she's doing or where she is besides 'home'... So, other than her obviously giving birth to my son, I don't know." He shook his head again, looking slightly sad.

"Oh..." Arthur looked down at his feet. He never knew this devil had a 'family'. Must be nice, he thought. Sighing, Arthur looked back at the door that was slammed in his face earlier. "Those flowers he had," he said, looking back at the older man. "What were they for? He took them to his room..." Could it have to do with his mother...?

"The flowers..?" He snorted. "No, he's probably planting them on the windowsill- we're trying to make the whole house look festive, so every window has a little trough." He looked about, going behind the counter to fetch something for himself to drink out of the small fridge. "So. How do you know my son? Can't be from school- you don't have that same air about you that he does." That vaguely menacing air that never let up even when Alfred seemed to be fully relaxed... His mother had had a similar air, though it scared him less.

Arthur tensed. Should he tell him he was an angel? "Well, you see..." he started to say, clearing his throat nervously. "I'm- I'm an angel, if you... um, haven't figured out yet. I was sent out from Heaven to scout him. Said he was causing a disturbance to the residents." He fidgeted with his fingers, remembering what happened when they first met. And then he blushed. Once again. Shaking his head, he slapped his cheeks lightly and scolded himself inwardly.

His lips pursed slightly as he glanced back at the door. "Maybe you better go," he said coolly. Disturbances..? He scowled, muttering to himself. "If Alfred's been killing the neighbor's pets again..." Granted, Alfred had been- what, twelve, at least in appearance?- twelve when that had happened, but... Or maybe he was looting houses. Who knew. What he _did _know was that the angel was acting strangely whenever mentioning his son. "Why are you blushing?"

"H-huh? Leave? But I have to-" He stopped himself, catching what the man said last. "Uh... i-it's a force of habit," he lied, blushing deeper. "I can't really help it." What a horrible liar he was. He was told not to lie back in his training days, but he could never tell one without apologizing shortly after and ended up telling the truth. It's what angels were taught to do from birth. Swallowing, Arthur ignored the instinct and looked back up at the man modestly; he was going to do this whether or not it made him cry endlessly in his pillow the next night.

"Yes, you have to scout him. But- you know, sir, you are a _terrible _liar." The man couldn't resist grinning, opening a bottle of tonic water and taking a sip. He gazed over the angel carefully even as there was a crash from where Alfred had disappeared to. "Alfie! You better clean that up!" Laughter, then muffled flapping was all that was given in return, making the man roll his eyes. "If that kid gets caught... Not everyone's this relaxed about demons and angels... Even then, some days I wonder if I'm sane..." He winced, taking a larger drink. "Now, tell me the truth before I open my shop up. I'm sure you don't want people who didn't fall in love with a demon to hear, now do you?"

Arthur turned his head to the side and continued to blush. How utterly embarrassing. "Um... y-yes, I... I fell _slightly _in love with your son ..." he admitted, rubbing his face. "I-I'm sorry, Mister." There he goes again with the apologizing. Sometimes, it just got plain annoying to him. "If you still want me to leave... I c-could..." Arthur felt the need to just stretch out his wings; they were starting to hurt him from wearing the clothes for so long.

He polished off the tonic water in a few large gulps, inspecting the label with an amused expression. "Well. You certainly don't beat around the bush. That certain you love him, huh?" He tossed the bottle into the recycling, dusting off the counter fastidiously. "Mind explaining how you met him? Because of what his mother was, I doubt that it's actually love."

How they met ... Arthur thought for a moment; the blush quickly returning to his cheeks. "M-my recruit fairy," he began, looking back up. "I found it... half alive. Then, that's when I saw him," He paused for a second, then resumed. "He was the one who confronted me first. He ended up... well, killing the fairy that I had in my hands. Then I challenged him to fight and-" Arthur stopped himself. He was going to keep rambling on quicker if he continued.

The man sighed, shaking his head in the direction of Alfred's room. "Kid needs to stop killing things," he groaned, opening one eye in slight irritation. "He's probably the reason it was in that half-alive condition. The first time I met him, he stayed for a few days. On the second day, my room was _full _of the neighbors' pets. Dead." It was like a cat trying to make sure its master or mistress was fed. Or maybe it had been a threat. He couldn't tell when it came to devils.

"I-I see... does he do this often?" Arthur asked, leaning his back on the door. "Is it a habit or something?" He didn't get why this devil would go around killing innocent animals. It irked him in a way. If only he'd been there earlier, he would have saved them maybe. Arthur's wings twitched uncomfortably as he pressed his back into the door, making him groan softly and sit up straighter.

"Often enough that he keeps his visits short. Whether they're presents, threats, or ways for him to vent his frustration, I don't know." He noticed the angel's discomfort with a raised eyebrow, shaking his head. "You'd have to see if you can get him to-"

The door opened, and Alfred slid back into the room, grinning. "Talkin' 'bout me, I bet. Pops, I'd love ta stick around, but the dudes back home are pro'lly reeeaal antsy right 'bout now." He ran out of the room, jumping up and staying up as invisible wings kept him aloft. He ran a hand through his hair, turning it back to its natural black as he soared off.

Arthur let out a whine as the door was opened on him. He moved out of the way and watched the devil fly off, having the sudden urge to follow him. He had to, didn't he? That was the whole part of 'scouting' someone... "U-um... where's he going?" he said, wings twitching in anticipation. Nervously, he fidgeted with his hands. He needed to follow him!

The man shrugged. "I don't know. He always tells me 'home' but I can't tell if he means Hell or an actual house." He poked his head out, looking both ways. "Good, no one saw him... So, Mr. Angel sent to stalk my son, I'd give them false information, if I were you." He watched a black speck in the sky, biting his lip.

'Stalk'? He was scouting! There's a big difference between those words. But never mind that. He had to go after him! What would his boss say if he came back with no information? Surely, more points would get docked off. Arthur swiftly made his way outside, looking back at the older man. "I... um, have to... f-follow him..." he said anxiously, blushing deeply.

The man gave him a dead-fish stare. "Why do you have to tell me everything, huh? Now get out before I get customers- which means I'll be using you as an unpaid assistant." With that, he grabbed a sign hanging off of a nail in the door, flipping it to 'Open' as the black speck did a loop-de-loop, presumably just to show off, as it headed for another tall building.

Arthur nodded, taking out his wand and changing into his original clothes quickly. He stretched out his wings a few times before taking a few running steps and pushing himself into the air, keeping a keen eye on the black dot that was moving up and down. What was he going to say when he caught up to the devil? Probably something stupid like always. Arthur rose himself higher into the air as he got closer and closer to his target, putting his wand back in his messenger bag. "Please don't be angry, please don't be angry..." he repeated to himself, cheeks warming up again.

Alfred didn't notice at all, maneuvering towards a small room on top of the building and inspecting it for a moment. He muttered something to himself, clasping his hands together and aiming at the wall, making a small noise like he'd just shot something. Red runes appeared, spreading out and forming a door. "Bingo," he muttered, stepping in quickly, the concrete rippling like he'd just stepped through water. The runes flashed as the last bit of him, the tip of his tail, disappeared.

Surprised, Arthur cocked his head. What was that? A red door? Picking up speed, he hurried towards where the devil was. If he was going to follow him, he might as well go inside to wherever that lead him to. Arthur darted towards the slowly-closing door and slipped inside with his eyes shot; he didn't dare to see what was inside yet.

Alfred sighed, though whether it was a happy sigh or not wasn't clear. "They really needta make the tunnels less cramped- then 'gain, that's what I get for tryin' to take a shortcut." He pressed his wings close to his back, making his way along the path. Everything was red hued, which was to be expected, and a little humid- still, he didn't take his jacket off, running a finger along one horn lovingly. His footsteps were loud and clear, echoing along- presumably, everyone else's would be magnified, as well.

As soon as Arthur stepped foot inside, he opened his eyes slowly, slightly shocked at what he saw. Red, he thought, all red. Could this be...? No no, it mustn't. Arthur decided to take a few silent steps forward, completely forgetting about his scouting mission, and wiped his forehead clean of forming sweat. It was too hot in here for his liking, but he pressed on anyways, looking both ways cautiously.

He sighed again, though this time it was clear Alfred was slightly irritated- he could sense someone behind him. Turning on his heel, still smiling cheerily, he looked at Arthur with his hands on his hips. "Well. Don't I just have a little follower, now don't I?" he said, smiling wide enough to show off his fangs as he took a step forwards. Despite his apparently pleased face, his eyes were cold, narrowed in distaste.

Arthur let out a startled peep as he head the devil's voice. "I-I-I'm sorry!" he apologetically stuttered, absent-minded. "I d-didn't want to follow you, I didn't! Oh God, I'm sorry!" He raised his arms up to cover his deeply flushed face, whimpering more apologies under his breath. He felt like such a wimp. No wonder he was at the bottom of his class. Arthur peeked through his arms shakily. "I-I'm sorry, I really am..."

This angel... was waaay too apologetic. Oh, well. Maybe he could mess with him a little. Alfred smirked, taking another step forwards, then another, until they were only mere centimeters away from each other. "Now, now, who said I was mad?" Almost curiously, he gripped the other's chin, moving his arms away and tilting his head up. Alfred couldn't resist letting his smirk grow wider, tilting his head to the side. "If you didn't want to follow me, why didn't you, hm? You could have called it a night and returned home with what information you got, couldn't you've?"

Arthur dropped his arms, immediately blushing darker as his chin was cupped. "I... I couldn't go back e-empty-handed." Yep. That was another horrible lie. "M-my boss would get furious with me again... so I had no other choice to... um, f-follow you..." He squirmed a little bit, whining each time he briefly made eye contact with the other.

Alfred bent down a little until their noses touched, staring at him intently. "You could have said it was either you leave then, or get mauled, you know," he said softly, noting with amusement how flustered the angel was getting. This was _fun_. And the angel wasn't even pulling away, making it all the more amusing.

Arthur's heart was beating fast, chest heaving with every nervous breath he took. "U-um... I..." He paused, swallowing before he continued. "I... h-have to tell you something..." Oh God, he really wasn't going to tell him his feelings, was he? "I-I never... caught your name. Can you tell me...?" Arthur hoped that wasn't too much. But what he was planning on saying next was simply going to be tough for him.

Alfred snorted softly, thumb stroking the angel's cheek. "My name?" He chuckled slightly, free hand going up to rest on the other's chest. "Alfred F. Jones, at your service. I think it's Danish- Pops chose it, y'know, so don't'cha dare diss it." The other option, had he been a girl, had been Amelia. Or was it Erica? Who knew. He pressed closer, violating those last few centimeters so that only their clothes separated them.

Alfred F Jones ... what a nice name, Arthur thought inwardly. He shuddered out a shaky breath as the devil pressed his body into his. "Ah... what- what are doing...?" he said, suddenly remembering he should tell his name, since 'Alfred' already had. "Um... my name is A-Arthur Kirkland..." Arthur wasn't too fond of his name. Originally, his name was supposed to be Alice; they were expecting a girl, but lo and behold, he turned out to be male. He shut his eyes to hide his embarrassment. But it didn't work that well. "Stop looking at me..."

Alfred made a sound at the back of his throat like his feelings had been hurt by the last statement, letting go and shoving the angel- Arthur- away. "Fine. Whatever, bro. Forgive me for not rippin' out yer throat," he said stiffly, turning around and walking away, tail writhing in agitation. Inwardly, he continued to grin, wondering what Arthur's next move would be; they were, after all, rather close to his home, full of demons, including other devils, that would just be anxious to destroy something.

Arthur grunted as he was shoved away. "H-hey! What was that for?" he yelled, growling angrily. He suddenly perked up, watching the devil walk away. "Wait! A-Alfred-!" Whimpering, Arthur ran towards the other and- without thinking - crashed himself into him, wrapping his arms around his body. Realizing what he did, he widened his eyes. "Ah! Um, I-I'm sorry! I'll let go..." But a few seconds passed and he never did. He just stood there; clinging to Alfred somewhat tightly.

Alfred didn't respond to the yell, didn't respond to his name being called, didn't even respond to the whimper. He flinched, however, freezing when he was abruptly hugged from behind, staring at the hands curled around his chest in disbelief. He hadn't been hugged in... ages, really. He was stunned into silence for a bit, not moving, before he finally pulled away. "Dude. What was that for, huh?" he asked gruffly, tilting his head to the side to look at Arthur, face expressionless.

"Wha...? AH, NO!" Arthur exclaimed, backing up. "T-that was completely unintentional! I just... I just..." He trailed off, hanging his head and blushing deeply again. But then he lifted it up, looking the devil straight in the eye shyly. "I... I just really LIKE YOU!" Arthur raised his voice as he shouted, a deep blush covering his entire face. Noticing what just happened, he covered his mouth. "I-I..."

Alfred's eyes twitched. "You... really like... me?" he asked, the eye twitch being audible even in his _voice_, somehow- it was strained, clearly disbelieving. He turned around fully, one hand on his hip, the other hanging limply at his side as he relaxed, looking over him in appraisal. "Well. You aren't the worst-looking creature I've ever met in this world, I'll hafta admit, bro," he said slowly, stepping towards him once more and pinning him against the warm stone, one hand on Arthur's shoulder as he frowned contemplatively. "What do ya think I should do, huh, broski?"

Arthur kept eye contact with Alfred, a significant amount of blush still heavily lingering around his cheeks. "I-I do..." he answered modestly as he was pushed back onto the hot wall, twitching a bit. A soft whine was emitted to Alfred's last statement. "What... _are _you going to do...?" he questioned, feeling quite oblivious to what was happening at the moment.

"That first question was rhetorical, dude," Alfred murmured, mulling over his options. Not that his decision hadn't been made a while back, but it bought time, didn't it? "Well, _Arthur_, I think that what I'm going to do... is make it so that we're havin' a bit of fun. Don't that sound nice?" he purred, sliding his knee between the other's legs, pressing closer and licking his lips.

"Mmn!" was the sound Arthur made in surprise to Alfred's knee going up his groin. Damn it for discarding his undergarments when he changed a few hours ago. Truthfully, he never really liked them at all. Chafed in all the wrong places. He whimpered wantonly, reacting slightly to Alfred's knee to his crotch and eventually started to get hard; a tent starting to form under his tunic.

Alfred couldn't resist a derisive snort, wings spreading out to create a sort of protective canopy around them. "What's that? Aren't angels supposed to be chaste?" he whispered, rubbing his knee against the bulge, hands tugging at Arthur's clothes. "You should take these off. If you're lucky, it's going to get even warmer than it already is." Assuming another creature didn't come along to spoil all of his fun, of course.

Arthur looked away to the floor. It was true; angels _were_chaste, but recently, Arthur's been... craving to do things outside the box. So, apparently, he was committing a sin. He would have to apologize to God later, in hopes he would forgive him. But in the meantime... He gasped as the other's knee proceeded to grind into his groin, and did what he was told; he grabbed the bottom of his tunic and lifted up, under his wings and over his head until it was fully discarded. "Nn..."

Alfred chuckled darkly, sliding the both of them down until they were kneeling. Wasn't it his lucky day? He honestly doubted any other devil had the opportunity to take a _willing_angel- he'd enjoy crowing about his accomplishments. He leaned forwards, placing his hands on Arthur's hips and kissing him hard, nipping at the bottom lip a bit harshly. No one said he had to be gentle, right?

Arthur let out a surprised yelp as Alfred's lips were suddenly pushed against his, opening his mouth and hesitantly kissing back. What a nice feeling, he thought inwardly. Having someone else's lips against your's actually feels kind of good. "M-mmnh..." Arthur moaned weakly, putting his arms around Alfred's back and pushed his face in deeper.

Alfred pulled away, rolling his eyes and biting at Arthur's neck. Wasn't this fun? He ran his hands along the elder's chest, nails gently scraping along as he rolled their hips together. He shuddered softly, sliding out of his bomber jacket and allowing it to gently fall to the ground, laughing to himself.

Ah-hah!" Arthur gasped out once he and Alfred parted, panting slightly. "Uhhm... A-Alfred..." He gripped at the devil's shirt as his jacket was slid off. His body subconsciously rocked against Alfred's leg, wanting to get closer so badly. "A-Alfred..." he whined needily, moaning as the other kissed his neck.

Snickering, the devil slid off his shirt as well, revealing tattoos along his chest and upper arms- vaguely tribal tattoos, actually, the focal point being a large ram's head. "What'cha saying my name for, huh?" Alfred crooned, fingers sliding down to what lay between Arthur's legs, ghosting along the shaft without actually touching it.

"U-uwaa ...!" Arthur cried out as his length was faintly touched over, bucking his hips to Alfred's hand for more. God, this was such an amazing feeling to him; nothing like he's ever felt before. He buried his face into Alfred's shoulder and shuddered out a breath. "P-please... touch me..."

"Since you asked so nicely, I'll be happy to oblige," Alfred whispered into his ear, nibbling it gently as his hands grasped Arthur's member, rubbing it almost agonizingly slowly. The angel was proving to be more fun than he'd anticipated- sure, he'd fucked others before, but never something that wasn't supposed to succumb to desire.

A long whine escaped out of the corner of Arthur's mouth, immediately jerking his hips into the devil's hand and shivered, sending a pleasured chill down his spine. "A-auughnn...! Alfred-!" he whined. "G-go... faster... nnngh..."

Somehow, Alfred's hands went even slower, one moving over to hold Arthur's hips down. "Now, now, you didn't ask nicely, now did ya?" he asked softly, blinking slowly as his tail wrapped around the angel's ankles, binding him as tightly as he could.

Arthur gasped even louder, vigorously attempting to rut his hips harder into the other's hand for more stimulation. "Uhn... p-please..." he moaned helplessly, twitching at the sudden feel of something wrapping around his ankle. "Ngh... A-Alfred, please..." He wanted more; so much more.

Debating silently for a moment, Alfred nodded, removing the hand holding Arthur's hip down so he could rummage through his pockets, his other hand squeezing down and stroking vigorously. "What else do you want me to do, bro?" he asked, brushing their noses together again.

"A-aah...!" Arthur pressed his face harder into Alfred's shoulder and cried out, letting his body subconsciously rock back and forth against the devil's hand. A bit of precum started to leak out as he continued to writhe needily to Alred's touch. "N-nngh..."

"Alright, don't answer me." Alfred rolled his eyes, tilting Arthur's head up to look him straight in the eyes. "This feels good, right? So I'm gonna guess you don't want it to end, riiiggghht?" In his hand, he held a small bottle, which he set down next to him, pleased with the response he was eliciting from the other.

Arthur let out a breathy moan, eyeing the bottle Alfred had put down next to them. "N-nnh... w-what is that...?" he asked with a shudder, still continuing to grind his hips forward. A bottle... what did that mean? Whimpering, Arthur covered his face back in Alfred's shoulder, hoping whatever that bottle was for wasn't bad.

This was getting annoying, not being answered. Alfred stopped his hand's movements immediately before deciding to go along with his plans anyways, releasing Arthur's length completely and tracing the perimeter of the base. Where his finger trailed, a black... thing appeared until it was completely wrapped around it. "Pretty little ring to stave off your release," he purred, sliding down until he was nestled between Arthur's legs, tongue flicking out to lap at the tip of his member.

Arthur whined as the devil's hand moved away, only to yelp out in surprise to what he did next. "H-hahh! No, w-wait...!" He tensed, crying out a soft moan as Alfred licked at his tip, bucking slightly. "Nnn...! Ahh..." His hands reached out to grasp a handful of the devil's jet black hair, panting lightly. He desperately wanted a release, but the ring...

Alfred winced at the tug to his hair but shrugged, engulfing more into his mouth and sucking lazily. His tongue pressed against the warm flesh as he began humming, as well, grabbing the bottle and opening the cap. He'd have to do something about his nails... Shrugging, he dragged them along the stone, quickly wearing them down to a more manageable length, bobbing his head.

Arthur bit down on his bottom lip as Alfred took his entire length in his mouth, gripping harder at his hair. "Mmn! Nnn!" As he moaned, he noticed Alfred had opened the bottle, making him shudder. He was never told what that was... Some sort of lubricant?

Slapping at the hands yanking on his hair, Alfred growled, glaring up at Arthur while pouring the contents of the bottle onto three of his fingers. Carefully, he slicked them up, pressing one against the angel's entrance. He pushed it in with no warning, still irritated about his hair being pulled like that. "Knock it off," he mumbled, returning to Arthur's length and swallowing, rolling his eyes.

"Y-YAH!" Arthur screamed at the sudden intrusion, kicking his legs and gripped the devil's hair again, even when he was told to let go. "A-aah! Alfred-!" he whined, pushing himself back on Alfred's fingers. "I-it hurts... nngh..." But at the same time, it felt strangely... _good_ in a way.

The tail around Arthur's legs tightened as Alfred sighed, pulling himself up until they were face to face. "Calm down, will you? Ya gotta relax- I don't care either way, but if _you_want to get some pleasure from this, then I suggest ya relax, got it?" He dislodged Arthur's hands from his hair, shaking his head and slowly adding a second finger, scissoring them and searching for that spot that was sure to pacify his prey.

Nodding weakly, Arthur followed his orders, taking in a slow and shuddered breath as Alfred's second finger made its way inside of him. It didn't take long for him to abruptly let out a sharp squeal, signaling his prostate was struck. Arthur opened his mouth to moan deeply, having nowhere to put his hands but to his side. He didn't know why Alfred didn't let him rest his hands back where they were. "Ah... ah! Oh, God... A-Alfred..."

Alfred smirked, adding the third finger and rubbing against Arthur's prostate. He lowered himself once more, looking up at the angel smugly. "You can grab my hair again- just no tugging, or I'll bite," he murmured, returning to sucking gently on the tip of the other's length, tonguing the slit.

Arthur quickly moved his hands back to Alfred's head and grasped his hair again, softer than he had been. "Nnng... I'm sorry..." he said, panting harder as a third finger was pushed inside of him, stretching him even more. "Haah... ah..." He kept a continuous moan in rhythm to the devil's sucking, letting out a strained 'ah!' with each bob of his head.

Growing impatient, Alfred removed his fingers, pulling off his own pants- he'd forgotten that he still had them on entirely. He shimmied out of both them and his boxers, dumping the rest of the lubricant out onto his hands and slicking himself up. Damn. He was only half-hard, though the friction was changing that. Once it passed inspection, he released himself, grabbing Arthur's hips and lining his entrance up. "Now, I have two things to say 'fore we get to business," he breathed, that infernal smirk still etched on his face. "One. I release an aphrodisiac. Two." He paused. "There isn't really a second thing." With that, he thrust in, deciding to be considerate and wait for Arthur to adjust. Blood wasn't his kink.

Arthur squeaked as his hips were grabbed, suddenly turning into a shudder when he felt the tip of Alfred's member to his entrance. Wait, an aphrodisiac? What does he mean by tha- "AUGH!" Arthur exclaimed painfully as he was suddenly penetrated, opening his mouth to scream. But it only came out to be a breathy moan. Tears immediately sprung to his eyes, gritting his teeth together and tightening his muscles. "A-ah! Ahn-!"

Alfred hissed, resisting the urge to slap him. "Calm down," he ordered shakily, closing his eyes, content for the moment to relish the tightness. "If you're good, I'll release the ring, okay? And if ya relax, as I keep tellin' ya, this will feel better." Why was he trying to soothe him? Alfred couldn't figure it out for the life of him. Still, he reached up, brushing hair out of Arthur's face, fingers grazing the (rather large) eyebrows. That angel, he decided, was lucky. Wasn't often when someone got a _considerate _demon.

Nodding slowly, Arthur tried to relax himself, breathing heavily through his nose. He managed to calm down his breathing after a while, until Alfred just so happened to brush against one of his eyebrows, causing him to tense up again. "Ah! D-don't... touch those..." he whimpered. Upon hearing the word 'ring', Arthur shuddered, remembering how badly he needed to come. "P-please, Alfred..." he said once again, reaching one shaky hand up to wipe his eyes.

Alfred rolled rolled his eyes, gripping Arthur's hips as best as he could with one hand and sliding out slowly. "Why can't I touch 'em, hmmm?" he crooned, starting up a gentle rhythm- not at all what he preferred, but, as he'd had to tell several other devils already, blood. Wasn't. His. Kink. No idea why. Just turned him off completely. He panted softly, peering about through the canopy of his wings to make sure there weren't any peeping Toms about before deliberately running his thumb along Arthur's eyebrows, intent on figuring out why the angel got so nervous about it.

"A-auugh! Stop it!" Arthur whined, face contorted in both pain and irritation. He reached up his arms and grabbed the other's wrists, trying to push them away. "Alfred, stop... hnng..." He was still anticipating on getting the ring off; it was starting to bother him greatly. "Uuh... a-are you... nng, going t-to take it off...?"

Alfred sighed, removing his hands from the other's face. This wasn't working, he could sense it. "I'll remove it in a sec, 'kay? Once ya start feelin' good again." He continued rocking into him, trying to aim for Arthur's prostate once more- with hips, it was a bit harder, making him grimace slightly. It felt... well, wonderful, really, but he preferred it when the being under him was writhing in delight, not pain.

"Nnngh ..." Arthur moaned, tears welling up in his eyes. He tried to move his hips to Alfred's rhythm as well, ignoring the distinct _squelch _he heard each time he went down, making him shudder even more. Then suddenly, Arthur bucked, letting out a high-pitched squeal. "AH! Aah~! D-do that again...!" he mewled, clawing at Alfred's back and bucking vigorously. God's sure going to get a hell of an apology when this is over.

_There_ _we_ _go_. It was a good thing, too- Alfred was getting irritated by the slow pace. He sped up, making sure to his that same place each time, smirking down at him. "Never seen an angel take such enjoyment from this before," he chuckled- he seemed slightly patronizing, even. "Well, now, I suppose that's alright. We all need release, right? A break from what we truly are." Not that _he_was taking a break, though he wasn't sure why he hadn't just killed Arthur outright, just to see the pain and possibly betrayal on his face. Maybe he still would.

Arthur kept digging his nails into Alfred's back, moaning an unintelligible chain of gibberish as he was pounded into. "A-ah! Alfre- AHN~!" His aching erection was still waiting to have release; he needed that damned ring off. "Nnnh... nng, A-Alfred, please...! I-I have... I have to...!"

Alfred tapped Arthur's nose, groaning low in his throat. "Don't worry, I'll take it off soon enough," he chuckled- indeed, he was nearing the edge himself, so, deciding to be merciful, his hand slid down, tapping the ring once, causing it to disappear. "There. You're welcome, broski."

Arthur let out a shuddered breath, immediately tightening his muscles as he finally came. "N-nngyaah! Aah!" He wrapped his arms around Alfred's body, moaning pleasurably; his essence splattering partly on his stomach. When his orgasm died down, Arthur went completely slack, smooshing his face to Alfred's chest. "Unn..."

Alfred promptly sped up, unable to hold back a moan of his own as he, too, came, burying himself as deep as he could within the smaller being. He just sat there, panting, before extricating himself from Arthur. "I suppose you're lucky the aphrodisiac isn't that strong- my blood's too diluted for that," he said casually, getting dressed like nothing had happened, like he was just walking and his clothes magically flew off.

Arthur squealed as he was filled up with the other's semen, whining wantonly once Alfred pulled out. He shakily reached his arm out to grasp his tunic, but didn't put it on right away; he was still trying to process the scene that just happened. Whimpering, Arthur just blushed deeply and looked at Alfred, as if he was too embarrassed to say something. "Um..."

Alfred grimaced at the mess they made, giving his wings a shake and drawing them close to his body. "What'cha lookin' at me for, hm?" he asked, folding his jacket up over his arm. "Oh, and yer gonna be sore afterwards. Truuust me. Good thing you can fly." With that, he began walking off, ignoring as best as he could the twinge that told him he should probably make sure Arthur got out safely.

Swallowing nervously, Arthur proceeded to put on his clothes, poking his wings through the holes in the back of his toga and patted it down until it was straightened out. He stood up, leaning on the wall for support. Then, with one last glance at Alfred, he turned around, making his way out the large red doors. He snapped his wings out and burst upwards into the air, trying his best to ignore the contents that leaked out of him as he made his way back to Heaven; a permanent set of blush set upon his cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note/: Second chapter of Morality! With hopefully less mistakes!  
**

**Here's another list of who plays who, in case anyone cares:  
**

**Liz: Angel!Arthur, random angel that attacks Devil!Alfred, Angel!Italy, and random devil that buys the Italies.  
**

**Me: Devil!Alfred, unnamed seraph, and Angel!Romano.  
**

**Yes, there is a creature in mythology called President Malphas. I did at least _that_ much research. Burrhur~  
**

* * *

The seraph\ was waiting for him almost impatiently, not in her office as usual but waiting right outside the drop zone. She looked him over, narrowing her eyes. "You reek of half-breed," she said quietly, crossing her arms. "You reek of sweat. Worst of all, you reek of Hell. Does this mean you've found the entrance?" Her eyes lit up. While Heaven was relatively easy to find- provided you could see that spectrum of the world or something (she herself didn't quite understand it) and could fly up that high- Hell was a tad harder, due to its chaotic nature. "But first, have you got any new information?

Arthur was surprised to see his boss waiting for him at the drop zone, let alone, see her anywhere. "O-oh, um, yes, I have," he answered to his boss; the immense amount of blush still pasted across his face. He folded his wings neatly to his back and let out a shaky breath through his nose. What if his boss found out what he and Alfred had been doing? She would surely lose her mind. Arthur shook his head, getting rid of his facial expression that might give it away.

She nodded, turning around and opening the gates. "Come along, then. If you provide satisfactory information, I may give you an outstanding score." Even though he really _did_ smell off to her... Well, she didn't bother to think that much of it. If the Heavenly Father was angry about it, then there would be obvious consequences. She wasn't in charge when it came to _that_.

Arthur nodded, following the seraph into the castle. He fidgeted nervously, feeling the effect of a slight pain in his bottom. Alfred did say it would be sore, didn't he? Arthur grimaced, finding it hard to walk now because of that. Damn it. "Where are we going?" he decided to ask, possibly knowing the answer.

"We're going to my main office," she said smoothly, opening a door and walking inside, sitting down on a delicately-carved chair. She pulled out a report, writing down what she already knew. "All of this information will be beneficial to selecting the angel to destroy this devil. They are not supposed to kill, just to harm and escort tainted souls to their prisons."

Arthur nodded, tagging along his boss as he entered the room. "I-I understand," he whispered, standing a few inches away from her desk. He then thought about what she said. Sending another angel to hurt Alfred? Arthur frowned at that. He didn't want that to happen! "U-um... can't you do something else ... to him?"

She nodded. "We could alert the other devils, and they would take it into their own hands- which may be worse." She sighed, stretching her wings. "'Red shoes,' I believe they call them... Would you like a description?" To tell the truth, she had no idea how the creatures in Hell conducted things, or if they'd even look down upon killing things... Then again, she was almost certain everyone looked down on half-breeds, particularly of the human variety.

"Yes ma'am, I would," Arthur responded, fidgeting nervously. Why was he so antsy? And why did his arse hurt so much? Wait, he already went over that. What he wanted to do now was sit down, although that would probably cause him to be more uncomfortable. Sighing, Arthur tried not to show his distress by leaning back slightly on the wall, still making eye contact with his boss.

"They force the one being punished to wear iron shoes and cut off their wings so they can't fly away, shoving them into a sort of furnace, where they dance until they drop down, dead. They refer to it as the 'red shoes' because that's the colour the heated-up iron turns." That punishment, at least, she knew for a fact was real. She watched him fidget with a raised eyebrow. "Something wrong?" She glanced over him. "What's that on your leg?"

Arthur cringed at the description. "That's horrible ..." he said, trailing off at what his boss said next. "I-I'm fine, it's nothing," He paused, looking down at his leg. Oh shit. "Ah, I-I-I don't know what that is!" he exclaimed, obviously lying. _Again_. He his his ankle behind his other leg and blushed deeply, forcing out a nervous laugh. "I-I swear ..."

She narrowed her eyes again, giving up for the time being. "Just start describing him, Arthur," she muttered, feeling like she needed to stab something. Which, of course, wasn't very angelic but Arthur _sucked_at being an angel so she didn't particularly care. "Did you get the name? The appearance? We need to know so we can destroy him before he decides that fairies aren't as satisfying to kill."

Arthur inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Thank God she didn't question him further. He would've died if that happened. Literally and figuratively. "I-I did get his name," he said, still blushing. "It's um, Alfred F. Jones, ma'am. Jet black hair, wears a black bomber jacket and glasses." His heart was beating furiously in his chest; the pain in his bottom still causing him to squirm. He needed to sit down sometime soon.

She wrote it all down, quickly turning to a small dial, seeming to spin it randomly. "Alfred F. Jones," she repeated. Immediately, the desk glowed blue, and a small pamphlet emerged from it. She opened it, scanning the information. "Let's see... Just a complete mutt. He's got some succubus blood in him, too, though that isn't too unusual among devils, try as they might hide it- which means that it's a good thing I gave you warning not to sleep with him. Slow-acting aphrodisiac in the semen. Just how slow it is depends on how much succubus is in him, which isn't much, so... A few hours." She rattled off more information, such as his age, his exact height, etc.

"I-I didn't sleep with him!" Arthur exclaimed defensively, blush deepening on his cheeks. "I ... I followed what you said. Didn't sleep with him, nuh-uh, no ma'am." … Yeah, he should shut up now. Don't want to make her any more suspicious. Tossing those thoughts aside, Arthur took in what his boss said- other than sleeping with the devil. The aphrodisiac Alfred had told him about earlier... what was that going to do to him?

She stared at him, jaw dropped. "Because if you _did_," she said slowly, "well... You know what an aphrodisiac is, don't you?" She turned to another page in the pamphlet, finger hovering above a title in rather messy handwriting, making it indecipherable upside-down. "If you don't... Consider the nature of a succubus. Her job- or, occasionally, his- is to seduce a creature and drain away their energy during sex. Now, what would help a succubus in her job..? Or an incubus, for that matter, except you'd be pregnant instead of dead."

Arthur swallowed. "P-pregnant?" he repeated, eyebrows creasing nervously. Oh, what he would give to sit down for a while. Subconsciously, he put his hand on his stomach. But quickly, he pulled it away, reverting back to reality and looking back up at his boss. "What would happen then...?" Arthur asked, wanting to get more information on this 'aphrodisiac'.

She snorted. "He's not an incubus, I don't think- and anyways, I'm not sure if male angels _can_get pregnant..." After all, they didn't exactly reproduce like normal creatures- they just came into being as per her boss' will. No, intercourse wasn't for angels, normally. "What would happen then? Well, if the succubus drains away all of your energy, you're nothing but an empty, shriveled husk. With the aphrodisiac, it leaves you more susceptible to being seduced- as in, you'll actively want it. Do you understand?" She didn't really want to explain too much more; while female angels were plenty stoic when it counted, the conversation was embarrassing her. "We'll post plenty of recruit fairies, more than he can kill, then we'll send a competent angel to destroy him."

Arthur gave a slight nod, partly understanding what his boss had said. So did that mean... he was going to crave more of 'it'? Well, it did feel kind of good- no no, he scolded himself, shaking his head. Off this topic! Arthur continued to lean his weight onto the wall and crossed his legs. "Y-yes, ma'am," He still wasn't comfortable with the whole 'destroying' idea, but he had to go along with it.

"Go rouse up the fairies, then. You're good with them. I'll see if I can't gather up a group of angels." She paused, thinking. "Hold on. It just occurred to me. You do know what a glamour is, don't you? She raised an eyebrow quizzically, unable to tear her eyes away from the weird white splotches on his legs. What _were_ those..? "Feel free to sit down, as well.

He blinked. "... What's that?" Arthur vaguely recalled his boss talking about that, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was. But upon hearing 'seat', he eagerly pulled up a chair and sat down, almost letting out an audible sigh of relief, but he stopped himself. But he couldn't sit for long; he needed to gather up the fairies, who seemed to be very fond of him for some reason... "Um... what is glamor?" he asked again, hoping to get an answer.

She pinched the skin on the bridge of her nose, gritting her teeth. "A glamour," she said tightly, "is a disguise, magical in nature. For instance..." She ran her hand over her hair; where her hand passed, it changed colour, until her hair was a bright pink. It stayed like that for a moment before seeming to flake off, returning to its natural colour quickly enough. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let me believe that you were sick that day." Very, very sick.

"Oh!" Arthur put his finger in the air. "I know what that is!" He used it when he went to scout Alfred for the second time, didn't he? "What am I going to use it for this time...?" Arthur shifted his legs, feeling the presence of his boss looking at them. Was there something on them? He didn't bother to look. All he bothered about was that his arse still hurt, even with him sitting down. "Hnn..."

"Now, remember, the wings are supposed to be invisible, as well- so you can stretch them out." She debated silently to herself, then shook her head. "What is that on your legs? It's white and looks disgusting." Seemed strangely familiar- it reminded her of when she'd had to retrieve captured angels who had been thrown i with the succubi or in... cu... bi... "Don't lie. You _did _sleep with him, didn't you?"

Arthur's heartbeat quickened. "Uh... um! No! ... Well..." His legs trembled. He had to tell the truth now. Blushing, he lifted his head to make eye contact with the seraph. "I... I did. But I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Arthur brought his hands up to his mouth and covered it, feeling a rush of tears in his eyes. "Really..."

She groaned, slamming her head into the desk. "It's not the sex I'm upset about- though, judging from the lack of blood, he didn't force you," she muttered. "It's the fact that, not only did you not lie about it, but there's none of _his_ blood on you, either." No blackish stuff, just... white. "Meaning you didn't at least attempt to injure him." He'd been in a prime position! He wasn't bleeding, which meant that multiple creatures hadn't been watching, either! _PRIME POSITION!_

"U-um..." Arthur rubbed his eyes, surprised his boss wasn't upset about him... 'doing it' with the devil. "You're not mad at me...?" He inwardly sighed in relief, listening to what she said next. Injure Alfred? Why would he ever do that to him? Besides, he probably couldn't even hurt anyone, even if he tried to. Just wasn't in his nature. No wonder he was such a weakling when it came to fighting. "I-I should go gather the fairies right now..."

"No, I am mad," she contradicted. "I'm attributing your willingness to the fact that he is, I believe, at least a quarter succubus or incubus or whatever the hell his grandparent was there." She began laughing- a hysterical laughter. God, Arthur was driving her absolutely _batty_. "Go get the fucking fairies..."

Arthur nodded solemnly, shakily standing up onto his feet. "I-I will..." he replied softly, carefully making his way towards the door and grasped the doorknob. "M-ma'am, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." He quickly, but slowly made his way out, hoping he could just forget about what just happened. Maybe he'll feel better once he rallies up the recruit fairies...

The fairies flocked to him immediately, as if sensing the fact that they were required. They gravitated towards the weaker, less threatening angels, it seemed. One began cleaning him up, not even batting an eye at his slightly disheveled state, while another fixed up his hair.

Arthur grinned slightly as he felt the fairies on him. He was right; the fairies always cheer him up. "Ah, t-thank you," he praised, smiling at each one of them. "I'm going to need a few of you... maybe about five or six." He gestured with his hands, signaling for more fairies to come.

They drew back, leaving about seven there for good measure. They beamed at him, the rest flying off while the remainder watched him expectantly. One drifted closer to his face, twittering in her native tongue before switching to a more understandable language abruptly. "Well? What do you need us for?" She smoothed out the cloth on her stomach, tiny hands resting on her hips.

"Um..." Arthur started, feeling another blush creep up upon his cheeks. "There's this... 'devil'. He's been causing trouble, and well-" He paused before he went any farther. Didn't want to give them _too _much information, considering the fact that he and Alfred- God, will he ever stop bringing this up? "Anyways... my boss just sent me here to recruit a few of you. Hope you all don't mind..."

The fairy nodded. "We know about the devil. He slaughtered our sister." They all shuddered in unison. "We all felt it." She touched his cheek, frowning at the redness. "What do you wish for us to do, is what I'm asking? We are all willing to help you." The rest bobbed in the air, nodding vigorously.

"Of course!" they squeaked. "We'll help any way that we can!"

Arthur looked down at the floor, only blushing harder. "I want you to follow the devil. Make sure not to get caught and my boss is sending another, um, _stronger _angel to eliminate him..." Again, he didn't want that to happen at all, since he still 'liked' him a lot.

She nodded, turning and chirping orders to the rest of the fairies, who scattered promptly in different directions. "Is that all?" she asked curiously, glancing at him.

Arthur nodded. "Yes. That's all," He managed to smile slightly. "Thank you." Reaching his hand up, he stuck his finger out and patted the fairy's small head lightly. "Now hurry; the angel's probably already expecting all of you."

She giggled, hand reaching up to rub his finger before she flitted off, dragonfly wings beating as fast as they could. "I won't let you down!" she cried, her tiny voice disappearing quickly as the distance between them grew.

Arthur nodded to himself, watching as the fairy faded off into the distance. He put his arms up to his chest and clasped them, praying that nothing would happen to Alfred. _Nothing_. Although, he couldn't count on it. "Please be okay..."

* * *

Alfred cursed, disguised as a human as he was. He could have _sworn_ that he saw a glow... Several glows. Thing was, despite it being midnight, he was in one of the busier parts of his favourite city, meaning that _mortals _were around. He picked up his leisurely walk, forcing himself to jog; his unseen tail curled up almost nervously. Were they following him? Maybe he was just paranoid because he'd fucked an angel. Wasn't that like a big offense or something?

He quickly descended down from the sky, swerving his body around each cloud he came upon until they were out of the way. He was one of the higher graded angels sent by the boss; much, much stronger than the other angel that had been scouting the devil before. Upon seeing the ground, the larger angel stretched his legs out and touched the ground softly, sending the few fairies that lingered around him out to observe with the rest. Now to find that devil... He made sure to keep himself hidden from the mortals, hoping they wouldn't spot him as he searched around.

Shivering, Alfred pulled his bomber jacket closer to him. He needed to get back to Hell, he decided, then and now. Ducking into a secluded alleyway and chasing the bums out successfully, he allowed his glamour to fade, spreading his wings wide and taking off as best as he could without being seen. He chose to keep to the unlit, taller buildings, not noticing the fairy that tugged on the angel's arm, pointing to a rising speck in the sky.

The angel looked up, nodding to the fairy and spreading his wings out, rushing into the air silently. He averted his eyes until he spotted his target again, speeding up to meet the devil's pace. He was going to get him; and not fool around like that weak angel, Arthur had been doing. No, he was going to _destroy _him.

Alfred was spiraling around a building, looking for a good place to open up a portal to Hell, when he saw it. An angel. A _different_ angel from Arthur. It wasn't just an angel out and about on a lark, either, that much he could tell. No, the angel was going _straight for him_, like it _knew _just how much he'd really done. "Shit!" With that, he abandoned his search of the building- couldn't let a competent holy being into Hell, after all- instead rising higher into the air in a desperate bid to escape.

The angel smirked, knowing the other had spotted him, and pressed his wings tight to his back; increasing his speed like a bullet being shot through the air. He spread his wings back out, continuing the process until he was just in arms reach of the devil. He stretched his arm out, just grazing the hood of his jacket before he fully got a firm hold of it. "Stop right there!"

"Bad move, bud," Alfred said darkly, or rather, said as darkly as he could after being yanked suddenly back. He twisted about, wings windmilling about carefully until he was pressed against the angel, smirking. He absolutely sucked when it came to long-distance fights, but close-quarters..? He nipped the angel's nose, smirking wide enough to bear his fangs before he went for the neck, attempting to bite down and knee him in the stomach.

The angel immediately pushed back, covering his nose as he quickly dodged the devil's next attack. Shit, he's strong, he thought inwardly, using his free hand to keep the devil off him. He brought his legs up, attempting to try and kick at him, all while he tried to get his wand out.

Alfred reached out, grabbing the angel's wrists as best as he could with one hand before eyeing his wings. His shin smarted from an errant foot to the leg, but he ignored it, grinning at the angel. "Ya pro'lly know my name already," he purred, winking. "See, now, when ya got a badass name like mine... Well, there's pro'lly a very good _reason_ why I'm Alfred. _Fucking_. Jones." With that, he pressed closer, hand snaking back to grab a fistful of feathers and yanking. It was always good to get close to an angel at one point in your life, the devil decided.

"A-AAH!" the angel screamed, vigorously struggling in the devil's grasp as his feathers were pulled. "Stop that right now!" He writhed painfully, still wondering how he was going do defeat this damned devil when he was caught like this. How could he let himself do this? He was supposed to be stronger than Arthur! Growling, the angel desperately flailed, shaking off his wings an pushing back with all his might; in hopes it would work...

Snorting, Alfred reeled back when his chin was clipped with a wing, spitting blood. He'd bitten his tongue. Go figure. He would have _loved _to keep scuffling, maybe have some more fun, but it occurred to him that he hadn't gotten any sleep in at least twenty-four hours. He yawned, shaking his head. "Well, this has been soo lovely," he called, purposely emphasizing his words, "but I'm beat. See ya!" With that, he flew off, tail waving a good-bye.

"Where do you think you're going?" the angel said daringly, wondering why the devil had just given up on fighting him. He was still up for a fight, but why? Taking out his wand, he dashed towards the other, tugging hard on his jacket. "I'm not done with you."

"I think _I'm _going home," Alfred choked out, swatting at the angel and eyeing the wand carefully. "While you might not be done, I've had my fill of angels for the day." He chuckled at the joke, rolling his eyes and shrugging. "But iffa you want to, ah, keep tusslin'..." With that, he launched himself at the angel, clamping down on his forearm with his teeth and digging in. Alfred, personally, wasn't all too fond of the taste of blood in large amounts, but oh, well.

Almost immediately, the angel let out a blood-curdling scream, watching as the devil sunk his teeth into his arm. He was unable to pull away, not matter how hard he struggled. "L-l-let go-!" he sputtered out, not knowing how much longer he could sustain himself in the air. He was getting weaker...

In lieu of a reply, Alfred reached for the angel's wand, beckoning with his eyes. "Not 'til ya leave me alone," he mumbled through a whole mouthful of arm, his hand starting to glow a light blue. God, he was tired... Then, abruptly, he let go, eyes wide and focused on something behind the angel. Watching the scene was the seraph, a long, silvery sword in hand.

"Honestly, if you want things done right, you do it yourself," she sighed. "I was watching you two, you know."

The angel's eyes widened, still gushing blood from his arm. He was in too much pain to speak; just gasping and whimpering as he tried to stop the bleeding. Quickly, he scrambled to the nearest roof of a building and perched, holding his arm and watching with blurry eyes at the scene that was going on.

The seraph snorted. "Stop crying! You can heal yourself, can't you? You have magic! And you call yourself 'top of the line'!" She rolled her eyes, dive-bombing after Alfred, who was trying to make a speedy escape. Her sword glistened in the moonlight; with a light sweep, she cut his tail off, flying after the falling appendage and catching it nimbly. In that moment of distraction, however, Alfred made his escape, opening a portal and closing it as quick as he could, howling.

How dare she! He wasn't crying, just getting light-headed from the blood loss, is all. Then he remembered he could use magic. Why didn't he think of that before? Taking out his wand, the angel shakily twirled it once, sending a wave of bright light to his wound. Sighing, he rubbed his arm, getting up and flying over to the seraph. "What did you get?"

She held up her prize. The dark, glossy tail writhed still, blood dripping languidly out of the severed end, the triangle-tipped end trying to cut at something. "I don't know if the damage will be permanent, but it's certainly a decent trophy." She paused to sheathe her sword. "It may be easier if we complain to them ourselves. Neither side can afford a war; they'll be sure to do anything to appease us. Not to mention they look down on half-breeds just as much as we do, let alone _mutts_. For the moment, though, let's declare him dead." She flew up, heading for Heaven.

He nodded, following behind her. "Agreed."

* * *

The seraph, having cleaned herself off, placed the tail on her desk, waiting. It still twitched slowly, like it was loathe to release its grip to living, though it definitely _was _going bad; it was frigid to the touch, and instead of blood, it had begun oozing a brackish grey slime. She wrinkled her nose. Arthur had better arrive there soon, before she changed her mind about lying.

Arthur ambled breathlessly to his boss's office, opening the door and shouting, "I'm late, sorry! I tried to get here in time..." He took a seat in front of the seraph's desk, awaiting the news she had to give. Then he noticed something on her desk. "...W-what is that?" he asked, lifting his head up to see what it was.

She smiled coldly, tilting her head to the side as the tail gave a sudden spasm. "I thought you might like proof that that devil has been destroyed," she said sweetly. Which was, of course, a lie, as had been stated multiple times, but it shouldn't be too hard to track down a tailless devil, right? "This is the only piece we could salvage. You can have it, if you want."

Arthur's eyes widened. "He's... destroyed?" Of course, he didn't know that she was lying; he's always been too oblivious to notice when someone's lying or not. "W-what happened? How did you..." He refused to cry. But he wiped his eyes just to make sure. Arthur stood up and reached over to pick up the severed tail, still slightly twitching. "...Why?"

She nodded a confirmation. "You can even ask the angel who helped wear him down. Trust me, it's a good thing he's dead." She wiped off the grey grime, grimacing at how it clung stickily to her fingers. It burned slightly... Shaking it off as best as she could, she shrugged. "Devils are not supposed to be murderers. The rape only solidified our decision. He also wouldn't have lived very long, anyways. His blood was too diluted with other species."

"W-who killed him...?" Arthur asked, ignoring the slight burning sensation in his hand. Instead, he just gripped the tail tighter. It could've been that angel his boss was talking about earlier. He sighed, resisting the urge to cry again. If his boss said Alfred was dead, he was dead. Arthur slacked his arms to the side, creasing his thick eyebrows as he rubbed his eyes. "Why did you have to kill him?"

She sighed. "The angel we sent after him and I destroyed him, of course. And I just told you why we had to." In all honestly, though, she supposed, they didn't _need _to... But what was one devil, more or less? She waved a hand, clearly dismissing him before a thought occurred to her. She was sick of weak angels lowering her reputation- it was assumed she wasn't doing a good job of drilling them. She felt awful about it, but why not get rid of one..? "On the off chance that he managed to survive, however..." she said slowly, "would you be willing to scout and land the finishing blow?" A knot twisted in her stomach.

Arthur perked up upon hearing the seraph's last words. "H-huh...? Finishing blow?" Did that mean ... Oh no. "M-ma'am, I can't! I just..." He held the tail firmly, blushing deeply. It would give him a chance to see Alfred one last time. Sniffling, Arthur shook his head. "I'm sorry, I-I'll do it..." Personally, he couldn't. He knew he couldn't. After all, he definitely wasn't one of the toughest angels out there. But he was to at least try his best.

"You can, you will, and you _must_," she said softly as the tail squirmed, as if it was being held too tightly. Slowly, it tried to inch away from Arthur's grip, as if it had a purpose. It plopped to the ground, proving therefore that it did _not _have a purpose as it just writhed there, movements growing weaker.

Arthur nodded, watching as the severed tail wriggled out of his hands. He didn't bother to pick it up again; it felt a little weird when he held it. "Um... I'll go now," he said, still obviously upset about all this. "And I'll try my best, ma'am." With that said, Arthur quickly turned around made his way out the door, immediately heading through the gates. A few recruit fairies followed him curiously as he spread out his wings again, falling down head-first down to Earth.

* * *

Alfred arched his back, hissing as the air stung the stub where his tail used to be. He hobbled about as best as he could, trying not to look strange as he peered about. The tail should have dropped around there- not that he couldn't just regrow it with some magic, but it was a lot easier if he actually had it with him as opposed to generating entirely new flesh. Not to mention it left him less prone. He sighed, leaning against a wall as best as he could, gritting his teeth.

Arthur pressed his wings against his back as he touched the ground, ace deeply flushed. He'd let a few tears slip out on the way down, doubting himself over and over again that he couldn't do this. The two fairies that followed him had rested themselves softly on each side of his shoulders, trying their best to cheer him up. But to no avail. Arthur tightly gripped his wand in his hands, taking small steps around each building and looking through every alley, just hoping he could find Alfred ...

With an angry screech, Alfred punched the wall, stamping on the ground. "Not fair! I don't _wanna _grow myself a new tail!" He'd have to find those two and make them pay. Forcing himself to calm down, he shook his hand, heading out to find an opportune spot to transport himself. Maybe his mother would be able to help. Next angel he saw, he was going to tear to shreds.

Startled by a sudden scream, Arthur stopped in his tracks. That sounded like... "Alfred," he whispered. So he was alive. Quickly, he started walking again, intent on finding the devil. But what was he going to do when he did? Surely, he wasn't going to throw himself at him, no, that'd be silly. Arthur frowned, contemplating on how he was going to make his approach once he finds Alfred. He peeked around the corner of a building, seeing if the devil was down there.

Alfred ran his hands along the building walls, trying to figure out the best place. He could always just forced a portal to go where he wanted to go, but that took too much energy- he needed it all for fixing his tail... God, he was just obsessed with his tail, wasn't he? It was a point of pride for him, after all. "Let's see... Would this do..? Or maybe... But who..?" he mumbled to himself, frowning.

There he was. Arthur pressed himself on the back of the wall, nervously taking in a few breaths. The two fairies that accompanied him twinkled prominently; their faint aura glowing brighter. Arthur had to cup his hands around their tiny bodies, trying to cover up the noticeable light they gave off. He poked his head around the corner again, hoping the devil hadn't seen anything that he might think was odd or peculiar.

Alfred froze, catching the glow out of the corner of his eyes. His fingernails scraped against the wall, his teeth gritting very obviously. He tilted his head, glaring daggers at Arthur, teeth bared. "What?" he growled, eye twitching. "If you're looking for another fuck, get lost. Ain't in the mood." He wanted to tear them apart so badly... Arthur and whatever that had been glowing.

Bloody hell. He noticed."Ah, I-I'm so sorry!" Arthur put his hands up in defense, refusing to get any closer. "I didn't come for that! N-no! I came because..." He trailed off, a deep blush starting to form on his cheeks. "I... came to..." 'Oh, for Christ's Sake, out with it!' he scolded inwardly, mentally slapping himself. "I-I thought you were dead," Arthur finally said, taking one step forward. "... Well, my boss said there was a chance you survived... so..." He kept his head down in embarrassment.

A shudder rippled through Alfred's body, eyes growing large and feral for a second. "A _chance_? There was no chance that I'd die in the first place until that second _angel _showed up! What did I do, huh?" He snorted, tearing at his hair. "Yeah, I kill a few things! So what? There's plenty! Thousands! Of course there was a chance for me to survive!" He took a step forwards, rubbing at his eyes before turning back to the wall, placing his palm against the stone and sinking into it, leaving behind the same glowing red runes from before.

So. His boss lied to him, apparently about Alfred being dead. Arthur jumped back as the devil yelled at him, watching his hand sink into the wall. "W-wait!" he exclaimed, reaching out his arm out. "Please don't go, Alfred-" Something cut him off. The sound faint, light wings in the distance caught his attention. He looked up, scanning the sky for some other being to come down. There he saw it; two specks descending quickly towards them. Arthur wasn't expecting anyone else to accompany him! What were those two doing coming after him?

Alfred hissed at the specks, shoving himself into the wall as quick as he could before they flew down. "Sorry, bro! Kinda got something t' take care of, y'know?" was the last thing he said before the stone completely engulfed him. Just in the nick of time, too; the darker, clearly angrier of the two angels landed gently on the ground, snarling.

"The fuck? You just let the idiota go?" the angel, Lovino Vargas, snarled, sneering at Arthur. He grit his teeth, adjusting his robes. "I was just about to bless a god damn dead person, too!"

Arthur swiveled his head to become face to face with the other angel. "I-I didn't do it on purpose! He just got away!" He looked at the wall Alfred had disappeared into, whimpering. Why did it have to be these two? Just why?

Behind Lovino, a lesser-looking- yet stronger than Arthur - angel poked his head out. "Ve, Fratello, calm down~" he said, going by the name of Feliciano Vargas. "At least we know he's alive~. Now we don't have to bless him!"

Lovino backhanded Feliciano as fast as he could. "Shut up! He still is dead! I'm not talking about _this_ bastard, idiota! I'm talking about that one guy!" God, why couldn't he think of the proper terms? He stepped forwards, inspecting the rapidly fading runes. "We were sent because she knew you'd fuck up. She felt that if you had people watching, you wouldn't be such a pussy." He sniffed. Like _they_were the right people. Cowards, the both of them, and he knew it, despite being a bit stronger than his younger brother. That was, when it came to lung power, at least.

Feliciano immediately let out a pained yelp as he was slapped, but said nothing more, except for a slight whine.

"...I knew it," Arthur deadpanned, smacking his hand on his face. "She can never trust me. Just because I'm weak doesn't mean I need backup all the time." He looked at the two brothers, swiping his hand off his face. "Why'd she send you two, though? I would've been better with someone else..."

Immediately, Lovino was inches away from Arthur's face, jabbing his finger into the weaker angel's chest. "Fuck you, that's why! Vaffanculo! We're your backup, she'll skin us otherwise, I want a motherfucking promotion so I'm not sent out on field missions, now get on with it!" So saying, he took a step forwards, forcing himself through the dying portal as best as he could and dragging the others along with him.

Arthur winced as the other angel poked his chest. "Christ, alright, fine..." he sighed, following after Feliciano through the portal. "This is so embarrassing." Again, why did he have to be stuck with these two for God knows how long? He simply sighed, looking absolutely miserable once he stepped inside the portal.

They were obviously deeper inside of Hell than Arthur had been prior; the reddish stone glowed a bright red, and there was a general spike in temperature that lead to it being almost unbearable. At least, to the grumpy Italian angel. "God damn, someone fix their air conditioning!" Lovino griped, taking a few tentative steps forward. There were two tunnels, both of which seemed to go in the same general area. "Split up or stick together?"

Arthur wiped his forehead from beading sweat, following behind Lovino with a sigh. "We're in Hell, of course it's going to be bloody hot," he remarked, waiting for the other to snap back at him. But he spoke again before he could. "Splitting up; I don't want to be seen with you two..."

"Ve, I want to stay with Lovi~!" Feliciano piped up, ignoring Arthur and bouncing behind his brother. His long curl that protruded from the side of his head waved happily, forming the shape of a heart.

"What's wrong with us, huh?" Lovino bristled, feathers seeming to fluff out in anger before he turned around, crossing his arms. "Fine. Whatever. I don't want to be with a fucking weakling, anyways. You'd slow us down." With that, he struck off in the left-most tunnel, purposely choosing the one with the least sounds coming from it. The fewer creatures they encountered, he reasoned, pulling out his wand- which immediately grew to form a staff, not unlike that of a priest's- and continuing to walk forwards. Indeed, from the tunnel on the right, there was the sound of pained hissing and fighting.

Arthur watched as the two Italian angels made their way down the left tunnel. Nervously, he peeked down the right tunnel, wincing when he heard all the menacing noises echoing off the walls. "Uh..." He glanced back down where the two other angels went. Without another word, Arthur sprinted down the tunnel as fast as he could, catching up to the others. He wasn't scared... just a bit insecure is all.

Hearing the footsteps, Lovino spun on his heel, brandishing the staff like a weapon. Which, well, it was. "No! _YOU _said we're splitting up!" he spat, glaring at Arthur. This was ridiculous! It was agreed that neither wanted to be together! He stalked forwards, grabbing Arthur's shoulder with one hand and spinning him around, giving him a push towards the entrance of the tunnel. "Go to your own!"

Arthur cried out as he was forcefully pushed, skidding his wooden sandals across the rigid floor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He finally got his balance and turned around, shaking Lovino's arms off him. "Please, I don't want to go alone!" he begged, looking both ways. "I-I've never been this far before..."

He snarled in frustration, jabbing the decorated end of his staff against the weaker angel's chest. "Neither have we. Look. The worst they can do is fucking torture you, got it?" Ignoring the fact they were chasing something down that had _no _qualms with killing things... "Now go!" The sounds were getting louder; they were definitely pained, and occasionally muffled, like someone was trying to shut the thing making the noise up.

Shuddering, Feliciano cowered behind his brother. "F-Fratello, what's that noise?" he whimpered, looking back nervously down the tunnel. "Scary!"

Arthur winced as the staff was poked at his chest. "A-alright, fine... I'm going," He turned around and quickly ran out the tunnel, closing his eyes as he made his way into the other opening. He wondered what those noises back there were. Sounded like someone was in pain...

"No idea," Lovino growled, turning back. He had no wish to be near those noises, though personally he didn't care what happened to Feliciano much. It would be sad if his younger brother died, of course, but it just meant that he'd have to deal with one less annoying person in his life. He began walking down the silent tunnel, only feeling the slightest bit bad about the fact he may have been shoving someone incompetent into danger.

Halfway along the tunnel Arthur was down, there was a greyish pool of slime that concentrated in one spot, then, from there, dripped down along a path. There, the walls glowed brighter, illuminating the way nicely, as well as showing that just because the slime had dried, didn't mean it was necessarily old. However, it still didn't show who had been down along there; the walls had various twists and turns, the smears growing smaller as they went along.

Whimpering, Arthur ventured on down the humid cave, temporarily stopping to wipe off the sweat on his face. Then he noticed the walls started to light up in front of him, showing him and accessible way down. He cocked his head once, but pressed on anyways. The noises had become more and more audible as he went farther down the tunnel. Arthur shuddered, creasing his thick eyebrows nervously; he wondered what could be on the other side once he got there. He hoped it wasn't Alfred...

It sure as hell wasn't Arthur's lucky day, though he did get his wish in that it wasn't Alfred making those noises. No, it was the other creatures in the room that lay just outside of the tunnel, writhing and snapping, their only encumbrance being shoddily-built cages and cherry-red manacles that burnt their skin. There were some cages that contained more than one creature; in those cages, there was more metal to overheat, so it came as no surprise to the person lying in the center of the room when one just succumbed to its wounds. It was there that the heat was greatest, small wisps of steam floating about the room. Specks of greyish blood trailed up to the figure, clearly asleep- Alfred, practically in the fetal position, using his hands as pillows, a brand new, weak little tail waving about.

Arthur widened his eyes at the scene. He didn't dare to take one more step out of the tunnel; his legs were frozen with fear. Whimpering quietly, he noticed another being on the floor. Was he sleeping- Wait a minute... that was Alfred! Arthur reached out his arm. "Alfre-" But he quickly stopped himself, bringing his arm back and covering his mouth. He didn't want to risk getting caught. Instead, he pressed his back on cave wall, possibly singing a few of his feathers as he did so and peeked out cautiously. '_What__ was Alfred doing on the floor?_' Arthur wondered, shifting his wings a bit.

The small sound of part of his name being called did the trick. Alfred stirred, opening his eyes and yawning before he sat up. "Damn, that healed quick," he mumbled softly, getting to his feet. He felt dizzy, and it sucked. Maybe some food would help settle his stomach- that was the bit that hurt the worst of all. The animals in their cages whined at him as he rested against some invisible barrier, clearly there to help stop the spreading of the head. He glanced about, unfocused eyes settling on Arthur. His shoulders actually heaved with dull irritation. "Dude, why're you still following me?"

Upon hearing the devil's voice, Arthur shrieked out loud, unable keep his balance and stumbled face-first on the ground. "U-unn... I'm sorry," he mumbled, lifting up his head. "I have to keep following you." What a stupid answer. He didn't know what else to say! Besides, he likes Alfred! He couldn't just stop following him forever and not see him again... could he? No, no, he couldn't. Boss would get upset. Sighing, Arthur rubbed his face and sat up, keeping his face covered. "I don't have anything else to do..."

Alfred sighed, making his woozy way over to Arthur. "You're going to get killed if ya keep wanderin' in here to see me," he said softly. "Well, maybe not killed, but certainly beaten half ta death. And yer one of the nicest angels I've met, so." It was clear he wasn't aware of what he was saying; he hadn't finished resting, hadn't even really started, from healing his tail. It twitched half-heartedly. He wanted his old tail back... With a sigh, he reached down, hoisting Arthur up and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, the devil stumbling a bit with the sudden weight. "C'mon, let's get ya t' my room, see what we can do..." With that, he began wandering out, still irritated, biting the corner of his mouth with his fangs hard enough to break the skin.

Arthur blushed at the devil's compliment, looking away. He's been told a million times he was nice- maybe a little too nice, but hearing it from Alfred made him feel kind of... flattered. "Um... thank you. But I- UWAH!" He screamed as he was suddenly lifted into the air, flailing a bit before his hands gripped the back of Alfred's clothes. "H-hey, where are we going...?" Arthur squirmed, wishing he didn't go commando today. Bloody hell.

Alfred snorted. "I can't help but wonder if you're even aware of what underwear is," he muttered, shaking his head. God, it was difficult to move when one had absolutely no energy. Still, he arrived at the intersection, peering about carefully before going down the darkened tunnel. "Didn't'cha hear me? My room." The tunnel grew cooler as it went on, with an occasional white feather laying neatly on the ground.

"I-I don't like them," Arthur said truthfully, shifting a few times to adjust himself. He raised his head, craning it slightly to see where they were going. Wait, Alfred said... his room. His... room. Arthur flopped his head to Alfred's back again to hide his face; which had become deeply flushed. "Oh... I-I get it..."

"Still. When you wear a dress, broski..." He continued along the path, pressing against the wall as it opened up into a larger tunnel. He glanced down, nudging another feather before frowning at the tone of Arthur's voice. "Somethin' wrong? And did ya come down this way earlier? 'Cause it's like something molted here." He raised his hand up, wiping the blood off from the corner of his mouth. That kind of hurt, where he'd bit.

Arthur blushed more, pressing his face harder into Alfred's jacket. "I-it's a toga..." he corrected, shaking his head nervously at the devil's next question. "No... I-I'm fine." Of course, there _was_ something on his mind, but he thought it was pretty obvious to find out. And the feathers... could they be the Italian angels' feathers? "Um, t-they're not mine. Two other angels followed me, but we ended up splitting up. I'm not sure if they're still here..."

Alfred just shrugged as best as he could, trying to keep quiet. The cave they were in had rather good acoustics, if he remembered correctly, so he just edged his way along, trying to locate the correct entrance. They were screwed if they met another demon or an- wait. What. "You mean you brought others here?" he asked softly, his grip on Arthur tightening abruptly before he pushed him off his shoulder. "You do know how stupid that was, right? Splitting up?" He narrowed his eyes, pupils contracting to mere slits, making his eyes look even more inhuman.

Arthur whined as he was suddenly pushed down onto the floor. "I-it wasn't my fault!" he tried to protest, shuffling uncomfortably as his skin made contact with the heated wall and pulling away, replacing it with his wings. "They... they thought I needed backup. It didn't want them to come along, I swear." He whimpered as he made eye contact with Alfred, hoping he wasn't too mad.

Letting out a long, slow breath, Alfred's foot came up, pressing against Arthur's chest and forcing him to the floor. "See, now, you've done sufficient recon on me, right? Ya got my name, ya got what I look like- I'm sure y'all could dredge the rest out of your ' archives. But no. See, yer forcin' my hand here, 'cause ya keep comin' down to Hell and if ya do sooner or later yer gonna get hurt. And I spent so much time keepin' ya alive, and I can't keep your friends alive, so you've left me in quite. A. Bind." The pressure he was placing on his foot increased as he cracked his neck in a long, languid motion, his wings as usual pressed against his back.

Yep. He's mad. Arthur yelped something incoherent as he was pushed to the ground. "Ah, w-wait, stop!" He grasped Alfred's leg and tried to pry it off his chest, finding it harder to breathe each time he pressed down. "H-haah, A-Alfred-! Please, I-I'm... sorry...!" His chest heaved violently, letting out choked breaths trying to get proper air. Was he trying to kill him? Arthur kicked his legs, feeling as if his ribs were going to snap if the devil kept doing this. "Please... please, I-I'm sorry... hng."

"I'm just showing you what I _could _do to you. Ain't safe to hang out with me," Alfred cooed, an evil smirk playing along the corners of his mouth, not noticing the olive-toned face peering out from a boulder, nor hearing the soft steps forwards the person made. Lovino swore mentally. He didn't like Arthur. At all. In fact, there were few people he liked. However, that didn't mean he was going to watch them get hurt without a fight, despite how his legs were trembling and how all of his joints felt like jelly. He attacked from the back, suitably cowardly; the staff cracked against the side of Alfred's face, the decorated top cutting into his face as he stumbled back in surprise, Lovino quickly helping Arthur up and tugging on him, trying to get the other angel to run with him.

Arthur whimpered, wanting the devil's foot off him. He suddenly looked to his left, noticing another presence in the room. Even though he couldn't hear him, Arthur knew it was Lovino. It was a natural instinct angels had. Sure enough, he saw the Italian angel moments later with Feliciano shortly after. He felt a sudden release of pressure on his chest as the angel grabbed his arm, quickly stumbling to his feet and running behind the other. His chest still throbbed painfully, wincing each time he took a step.

Alfred let out a snarl, feeling his legs buckle for a moment as he tried to gather his strength, charging after the trio until he paused. Wait. There wasn't a way back for them, was there..? He slowed, strolling along after them contentedly. Oh, he'd let them trap themselves...

Indeed, Lovino nearly ran smack into the wall where the portal had been, slapping at the rock ineffectually before turning down the tunnel they'd forced Arthur down earlier. He felt as if his feet couldn't move fast enough until he skidded back into the overheated room with the creatures snarling on the other side, looking about desperately. Nowhere to go..!

Arthur panted, chest heaving painfully. '_Where was the exi__t?_' he thought inwardly, getting worried fast. "There's no way out ..." he managed to say, breathing heavily. "H-how... are we going to get out of here...?"

Whimpering, Feliciano frantically looked around, his curl twitching uncomfortably. "W-w-we're trapped? Oh no! What's the boss going to say? Ve!"

Lovino hurried back to where the others were, instinctively hiding behind them and hardly daring to say a word. Eventually, Alfred sauntered back in, looking a little put out. "Dude, wasn't gonna kill ya or nothing," he muttered, rubbing his cheek where he'd been smacked. Oh, how he wished he had a little more energy... He looked more tired than before, shaking a little, pressing a hand against the rough stone to keep himself up. "Was 'bout to let go, too. What, ya don't like me anymore?"

Arthur pressed himself back onto the wall, shaking profusely. That incident that happened not too long ago kind of scared him. Although, pretty much anything scares him, but... he still liked Alfred. What was wrong with him? He hoped Lovino or Feliciano would never find out about this. "W-why'd you do that?" Arthur finally said, managing to calm down just a bit.

The devil thought for a moment before shrugging. "'Cause all I want is some rest, but then ya throw this shit at me and make me figure out what to do with y'all." He also never needed an excuse to hurt things. Alfred gazed at the three angels carefully, striding forwards. "What should I do, huh? Ya got any _reasonable _ideas?" His eyes glinted.

The lesser-looking Italian angel trembled as the devil got closer, furiously trying to squeeze between Arthur and his brother. "V-ve... you could let us go," he said shakily, too oblivious to notice that was a stupid answer.

Arthur moved out of Feliciano's way, nervously swallowing and blushed lightly. He sort of concurred with the other angel, but not quite as much; he wasn't that dumb. "Um..."

Alfred shook his head, pulling all three angels apart to inspect them individually. "I don't think I will," he said softly, reaching over and grabbing a good bit of Arthur's hair, not pulling at all, just clutching hard enough so that the weakest angel couldn't escape. He glanced at Lovino, who was too terrified to do much more than mutter Italian swear words and clutch his staff fearfully, then at Feliciano. "No... I could pro'lly make a pretty penny sellin' y'all as pets."

Arthur winced at his hair being grabbed. "N-no, let go!" he whined, jerking his head to try and get out of Alfred's grasp. "D-don't do that! Please! There has to be something else!"

Feliciano refused to let go of his brother as the devil tried to pry them apart, whimpering frantic 've's under his breath. He certainly didn't want to become someone's pet!

Alfred had had enough. He thrust his hand back, purposely smacking the back of Arthur's head into the stone, gritting his teeth visibly. "All of you! Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup right now! I'm sick and tired of yer arguing, I've barely had any sleep, and if you hadn't noticed, because of _you_," he tugged on Arthur's hair harshly, "I just had to regrow my god. Damn. Tail." As if to demonstrate, his tail flicked weakly. Lovino pulled away from Feli, adjusting themselves so that his younger brother was in front instead.

With a silent scream, Arthur started to cry as his head was smashed against the wall, almost losing consciousness from the force. He didn't dare to say another word; he was pretty sure there was a gash in the back of his head. His body slacked, barely having any more strength to support himself.

Feliciano yelped as he was shoved in front of Lovino, looking back at Arthur and thinking he could possibly be next. "W-w-we're sorry!" he cried out, wanting everything to just end. "Please, let us go!"

Immediately, Alfred sighed, releasing the tuft of hair with a regretful grimace. "C'mon, we'll get you fixed up, okay?" he said softly. He hadn't meant to hurt him _that _badly... He hated seeing others cry. Well, unless he had the intent to kill, which he was starting to get with the two Italians. "You want me to make y'all shut up, too?" he hissed, turning his furious gaze at them.

Lovino winced, shaking Feliciano. "Shut the fuck up, bastardo!" he whispered urgently. "I fucking hate you, but if you get me killed as well..!" He crouched down further, practically burying himself in the spot where the wings joined the shoulder blades, looking for whatever protection he could find. He was the biggest coward ever.

Arthur sucked in a deep breath and let it out with a long whimper; his vision was becoming slightly hazy. Tears still came down his cheeks as he reached up to hold his head once Alfred let go. "It hurts, it hurts..." he sobbed, subconsciously leaning into the devil, stumbling to keep himself up.

"No, no, sorry!" the brunette angel squeaked in fear. His knees were shaking, ready to give out at any moment. Swallowing nervously, he turned his head. "F-Fratello... I'm- I'm scared...!"

Oh, this was just great. Alfred groaned, turning his back and pressing his wings tighter to himself. "Hop on," he muttered, gritting his teeth. Stupid him, being so soft. Stupid angels for crying too easily. He was about ready to rip everyone's throats out. '_I need to stop changing emotions so quickly_,' he thought to himself, shaking his head.

"I said shut the fuck up!" Lovino spat, peering out over the younger's shoulder. What the hell was going on? "God, they're being so... weird..." he muttered, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

Blinking through blurry eyes, Arthur managed to grasp the back of Alfred's jacket, wiping his nose and wondering if he should get on. Whimpering, he climbed onto the devil's back as if he were a ladder, wriggling a few times before he found a decent position, and wrapping his arms around Alfred's neck.

Feliciano - through his frantic whines- looked where Lovino was gazing at. "Ve... what are t-they doing...? Is he going to leave with him?"

"I should fucking hope s-" Lovino was cut off when a hand shot out to grab his wrist harshly, grimacing in pain. Alfred did the same to Feliciano, quickly dragging them off.

The devil hummed, trying to ignore the strain everything was putting on him. "So. I'll give y'all different choices, 'kay? the first one is completely by choice- the next I'll decide. They'll all be different so far. So, with no further ado..." He cleared his throat. "Here's yer first choice. Who wants to be my personal pet?"

Feliciano cried out as he was grabbed. "No, no, let go!" he shrieked, trying to get out of Alfred's grasp. He suddenly stopped once he heard the devil speak. "M-mister, you can't do this! Please! Just let us go!"

Upon hazily hearing Alfred's words, Arthur gripped tighter around the devil's neck, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. He still felt a bit dizzy and disoriented, but he was able to hear things around him. "Alfred..." he whispered softly. "I'll... I'll do it..."

Alfred tightened his grip on the Italians' wrists. "Didn't you hear me, bro? Shut. Up!" he snarled, glancing back. "You two aren't endearing yerselves to me!" He yanked them, maneuvering them around the caverns expertly, managing to keep his voice down when he got to larger ones. He sighed, returning his attention to Arthur. "Why would ya volunteer, huh?"

Lovino, quite frankly, wasn't sure what to do. On one hand, his wrist hurt badly. Very badly. On the other, he wanted to escape. And on the third hand, he kind of didn't want to be murdered. So he kept quiet, deciding on a sudden act of kindness and using his free hand to grab his younger brother's. "Hush," he whispered. "Throwing a fit isn't going to help, dumbass."

Taking in a deep breath, Arthur buried his head into the devil's back. "I-I just want to," he responded shakily, feeling a possible trickle of blood running down the side of his face. He didn't want to give a specific reason why; it was probably just the slight concussion talking. "Please, Alfred...?"

Feliciano stopped struggling once felt his brother's hand on his. He calmed down a bit, knowing Lovino actually cared for him. "B-but Fratello," he whimpered, turning his head to whisper quietly. "What's he going to do to us? Ve..."

Letting out a slightly exasperated sigh, Alfred nodded. "A'ight, fine. Then I'll sell one and release the last." Rule of three and all of that, after all. Maybe he was too nice. Far too nice indeed. He should have killed all three as soon as he caught them trespassing. Then again... Maybe he wasn't so nice. He didn't care who bought the one he would sell.

Lovino shrugged, annoying. "Who knows? But your voice is too fucking high-pitched; if it doesn't get him to kill you, _other things _are going to hear." He jerked his head to the tunnels they were passing, from which soft voices floated.

Arthur sighed, his consciousness hanging onto him like a piece of thread. He started losing his grip around Alfred's neck, trying his best to keep his hold. Then, he heard what Alfred had said after. "S-sell one of them...? Who...?" Slowly, he glanced back at the two Italian angels, wondering what exactly was going to happen to them.

Perking up his ears, Feliciano looked down the tunnel, shuddering softly. Those noises were pretty menacing. It wasn't his fault that he had a 'girly' voice! It's just like that when he's frightened... right? Feliciano suddenly tensed, shakily glancing at the devil. "V-ve... did you say... _sell_?"

"Whichever one of them needs punishment, that's who," Alfred chirped, purposely ignoring Feliciano's question. He let go of them for a second, hoisting Arthur farther up onto his back, then grabbed the angels once more. "So. Dude. The aphrodisiac take effect yet, or is it not strong enough?" More a question borne from curiosity than anything else.

Swearing under his breath, Lovino's grip on his brother's hand tightened instinctively. He didn't want either of them to be sold! Who knew what kind of demons lurked in the depths!

Arthur tensed a bit upon hearing the devil's question. He almost forgot about the aphrodisiac; and now that he remembered, he squirmed uncomfortably. "U-uhm... maybe..." he said, managing to blush lightly as he kept his face hidden. Thinking about it, Arthur did have some 'needs' about now.

Feliciano whined, gripping Lovino's hand tighter as well. "L-Lovi, what's going on?" His voice wavered slightly, letting out more 've's as he got more fearful about what was happening.

Alfred didn't seem to be noticing the angel's discomfort, nodding. "A'ight. Just tell me if ya feel it and I'll see what meds I got for it." He patted his knee, laughing like he'd done it quite a few times before- after all, Arthur definitely couldn't have been his first. Judging by how relatively at ease he had seemed, no, definitely not the first.

"Don't fucking call me that! Stop making me swear so much by opening your damn mouth!" Lovino spat, prying their fingers apart and shoving the younger angel. "I don't know- all I know is that nonno better bail us out!"

Arthur blushed slightly deeper, curling his legs around the black-haired devil when his knee was touched. He wasn't feeling anything yet, but he knew it would start to show eventually. "My head hurts..." he mumbled tiredly, trying to ignore the pain in the side of his head; which seemed to be increasing.

Feliciano whimpered as he was shoved. "Fratello, w-what if he doesn't know this is happening?" he said worriedly, subconsciously grasping his brother's arm again. "We could be stuck here forever! Ve!"

"Again, a'ight, I'll get ya something for it. Gotta take care of my pet, after all. Pet that's badly taken care of ain't a very loyal pet, now is it?" Alfred laughed again, hoisting Arthur back up- his grip was slipping- while struggling to keep ahold of the Italians, turning down yet another tunnel. Judging by the slope, they were going deeper down; intricately carved doors began lining the walls surrounding them.

Lovino grit his teeth, feeling panic bubble up inside his chest. "I don't know! I don't fucking know! He said that he'd let one of us go, right? Bastard who's set free will alert him, alright?" He yanked his arm away, snorting.

He nodded slowly, resting his head down on Alfred's jacket, trying to stay awake. If he _did _have a concussion, he surely didn't want to fall asleep.

"H-hey!" Feliciano exclaimed as his arm was pushed away, struggling weakly with his other arm in the devil's grasp. He was getting fearful about where they were being led to. It had to be somewhere scary, since they were in Hell and all. "I-I hope you're right, Lovi," the brunette Italian whispered, a few tears gathering in his eyes. "I hope He'll save us..."

Eventually, Alfred paused in front of a door, pulling out a key and shoving it into where the doorknob would normally be- on closer examination, none of the doors had doorknobs. "Home sweet home!" he sighed, walking straight through the door into another room, or at least what looked to be the living room. Carefully, he set Arthur down onto the couch, pointing him in the direction of the meds before returning his attention to the angels.

"Now, ya gonna sit tight for me while I take these two to the market?" he tossed back to Arthur, grabbing the Italians and yanking them out. Lovino let out a yelp, stumbling after him uneasily.

Arthur - not really paying attention to his surroundings- nodded at the Devil's words, completely oblivious at what was happening to the other two angels. All he wanted to do was lay down, but he first looked where Alfred had pointed. Medicine, he thought, shakily reaching out to rummage through the bin.

Feliciano cried out as he was grabbed again, tripping over his feet. "N-now where are you taking us?" he practically shrieked, not bothering to struggle this time. His resistance was becoming futile anyways.

Luckily, the medicine was easy enough to find, or at least the desired bottle. All of them looked stolen, naturally- some lady was going to need to explain where the pills for her heart problems went, apparently.

Lovino had apparently decided the same thing, for her kept unusually silent during the whole affair, clearly fuming deep inside. Alfred laughed. "To the market, o' course! Ain't too far from here." He left the room, turning down the hall they'd previously been walking along. "Don't worry, I'll keep y'all safe."

The younger Italian rubbed his eyes with his free hand, proceeding to stay quiet like his brother. Were they really going to be sold in the market? But... gah, this wasn't right at all! He looked back behind the devil, glancing at Lovino worriedly and hoping he'd at least look back so he could feel somewhat comforted.

Lovino didn't look back, just continued on and grit his teeth in irritation. Alfred sang happily, going faster than he had with Arthur on his back, quickly reaching the market. Various creatures, not all humanoid, crowded past them, toting their wares happily. Alfred cleared his throat, pulling Lovino and Feliciano close. "An angel for sale! Take your pick! One will give you a fight! The other won't! I can guarantee they're both virgins!" Actually, he couldn't, but whatever.

Feliciano's eyes widened in horror, wanting to just turn around and run away. What he saw wasn't at all what he imagined. "V-v-ve!" he suddenly screamed, literally shaking. "D-don't do this to me! I'll do whatwver you want, just not this!" Wait. Did he say 'virgin'? Well, he couldn't say he wasn't one... Did that mean there was a possibility he and Lovino could get...?

Alfred maneuvered them around, continuing with his cry. He did, however, clamp a hand over both of their mouths, making sure they couldn't cry out. Lovino jerked, wings fluttering in shock as he tried to pry his mouth free. "Come on, anyone want a virgin angel? Plenty of fun to play with!" Alfred crowed, picking them up to show them off a little more.

With a yelp, Feliciano kicked out his legs as he was hoisted up into the air, muffling a very long scream. His wings bristled, letting a few feathers float down from the sudden grab. "Nh-nn! Nn!" he tried to protest, flitting his wings rapidly in attempt to escape; which seemed to be hopeless.

Alfred clamped his hand tighter on Feliciano's mouth, shaking him. "Shut up before I set you loose in here!" he hissed. Indeed, several creatures and devils alike watched, eyes wide at the admittedly unusual sight.

With that being said, the brunette angel fell silent again, his violent thrashing dying down. He frantically looked back and forth, refusing to make any direct eye contact to the other devils staring at him. It felt... weird to be glared at like this. Feliciano wriggled uncomfortably, resisting the slight, urge to just bite at the devil's hand. Maybe he'd let go if he did...

As Feliciano struggled, he sensed that someone was looking at him. Not just the other creatures he knew that were surrounding him, he felt individual eyes on both he and his brother. Frantically, he darted his eyes back and forth, trying to find whoever was staring at him, but there was no one to be found. Paranoid, Feliciano squirmed again, just wishing the devil would let go of him.

Just then, a voice erupted from the crowd. "I'll take 'em, I'll take 'em!" it said loudly. An older looking devil parted through the crowd until his was right in front of Alfred, smirking. He was dressed rather nicely, but there were tears and rips in his shirt and pants. "So. How much are these two cuties, huh?"

Lovino seemed to sense that someone was watching them too, for he shrank away, trying to edge closer to his brother to use him as a shield. God. That day had started out so promising, too- he was supposed to give some guy hoping to become Pope a holy vision or something like that, not possibly get molested deep down in some too-hot cesspool of sin! He flinched when he heard someone was actually going to /buy/ them, swearing under his breath.

Pausing, Alfred looked over the possible buyer, grinning widely. "Well! For one such as yourself, perhaps... Would you be able to grant me an audience with President Malphas?" He wanted an actual pet, such as perhaps a peryton- now_ that_ would be awesome- then again, Malphas granted familiars... He doubted winged deer would make a good familiar. A dog, then, or a cat. Maybe a hedgeho- an eagle. Yes.

The devil chuckled lightly, putting his hand behind his head. "Sure, sure, I could do that," he said, giving both the Italian angels another glare. If he did get to buy them, it would certainly be his lucky day. "I'll take them off your hands if no one else wants 'em. Whaddya say?"

He nodded, quickly putting the angels' wrists together and concentrating. There was a blue flash of light, and then they were handcuffed together. Alfred grabbed the chain connecting them, looking slightly tired. "A'ight, can I get a contract from ya? Yer one of the higher-ups, so an audience with Malphas will be no problem, I'm sure, buuut... Just to confirm." He grinned, placing his free hand on his hip.

Feliciano gasped lightly when he felt something clip around him, but held his protest to himself. He didn't want to get in any more trouble.

Grinning excitedly the devil reached into the pocket of his ripped jeans and pulled out a long piece of paper, handing it over to Alfred. "Here's the contract," he said, still keeping eye contact with the little angels that were now cuffed together. God, he wanted them so badly it hurt.

Alfred stuffed the paper into the pocket of his jacket, shoving the angels into the devil's arms. "Enjoy yer new toys!" he crowed, patting both of them on the back. "Play nicely, you three! I _hate _givin' refunds." With that, he ran off, unable to resist a crow of triumph as he hurried back to his room, almost too tired to think.

Shying away from his apparent 'owner,' Lovino grasped at his brother's arm, having forgotten, in his new-found terror, that he hated him. They were too closely chained together to fly away- all sorts of weird cross-breezes, not to mention their wings were too big- but maybe... He began tugging on Feliciano, trying to get them to disappear into the crowd.

Feliciano watched in horror at what had happened. Had they really just been sold to this devil? Whimpering, he followed along with Lovino until he was grasped from behind. "V-ve!"

The unnamed devil grinned, letting out a content sigh as he grabbed onto his new 'pets'. "Where'dya think you're going?" he said, pulling on their wings with a smirk. "You're both mine now! Come on, I'm sure we'll have lots of _fun _together~"

* * *

Arthur sprawled himself over the devil's couch, pressing his face into the pillow he had grabbed; which happened to be Alfred's pillow. He rested his head on it, closing his eyes but slowly opening them back up again. 'Can't fall asleep,' he thought to himself. After all, his head was still hurting quite badly, even if he did take medicine.

Sighing, Arthur rolled onto his side. When was Alfred going to return. He actually... _missed _him when he was gone.

It seemed to be Arthur's lucky day. The wall rippled slightly, indicating someone was passing through- then, with a slightly watery noise, Alfred shot through, practically tackling the wall in his haste to shove the paper onto it, which he did with a flourish. Somehow, it stuck. It was best not to think about how the physics worked in keeping it up. Sighing, the devil turned to look at Arthur, yawning heavily. "You a'ight there? Need any coffee or whatnot? Tea? You sound British, surely ya like tea." He hummed slightly, looking about. It was almost like an apartment in there... He'd planned on falling asleep immediately, maybe after taking a shower- but then he'd wake up feeling gross, and then he'd need another shower- but he needed to teach his new pet exactly what it _meant_, being a pet.

Arthur's ears perked up upon hearing the noise. He lifted his head, still gripping the pillow, and sat himself up. "I-I'm fine," he said with a long yawn. His eyes suddenly looked up at Alfred. "Tea? Um, y-yes, I would like some..." Arthur couldn't remember the last time he's had tea before. It had to be at least three years ago...

Alfred nodded, making a mental list of what was needed before he pulled a chair forwards to face the couch, heading into what served as his kitchen. Several minutes- and a good amount of swearing after he presumably slammed his new, rather clumsy tail into a drawer- later, he came back out, thrusting a cup of tea into Arthur's hands. "Now. We need to talk," he said calmly, settling into his chair, tail twitching in a way that indicated it had recently been hurt. Again.

Arthur took the cup from Alfred's hand, almost dropping it as he tried to hold it correctly. "Talk? What about...?" He creased his eyebrows, thinking what the devil wanted to speak to him about. Was it going to be bad? Good? Arthur wasn't sure. Shakily, he brought the teacup to his lips, keeping eye contact with Alfred intently. He ended up grasping the cup with both hands so he wouldn't have the fear of spilling it all over him. Swallowing, he spoke again. "Is it about me...?"

Alfred hummed softly, cocking his head from side to side as if he was trying to hear something far-off. "Well, what else is there to talk about, hmm? 'My, oh, my, how nice the weather is today! A bit hot, though, don't'cha think?'" He chuckled slightly, raising his voice to a falsetto before lowering it to speak normally. "I need to inform you of your duties as my pet. What do you think that entails?" As if to make a pun, his tail writhed happily.

Arthur deadpanned slightly at the devil's joke, but quickly loosened up and blushed a little. "Uhm... I-I don't know..." he said shyly, setting his cup down on the near table beside him. "Do I have to... follow what you say?" Truthfully, he only volunteered to be Alfred's pet because he thought it meant to get 'closer' to him. God, was he wrong. "Um, w-what do I have to do?"

Humming, Alfred took a large drink of his coffee, wincing when it scalded his tongue. Definitely too hot. "Well, of course you do," he replied, looking at him like he was an idiot. "You're to listen to everything I say and do as you're told. If I tell you 'no,' that means 'no, and if you push the matter I'm going to kill you and start looking for a new pet.' Got it?" He doubted he'd be that harsh... But it helped to scare them straight immediately, lest they get any big ideas. "You're also to help warm my bed- literally, of course, though I probably wouldn't be adverse to the other definition." The devil shrugged, looking as if he didn't much care. "Since, as I have said, I am a _considerate _devil, you'll be choosing when that is. Does that sound fair?"

Swallowing nervously, Arthur nodded, flinching at the devil's words. If he wanted to keep living, he'd have to agree. "I understand..." he mumbled, looking slightly terrified. Maybe this was going to be harder than he thought... oh bugger. Arthur took his teacup into his hands again, visibly trembling as he took a sip. It couldn't be _that _bad...

Right?

Frowning, Alfred bit his lip, reaching over to pat Arthur's head. "Hey, now, don't be frightened, broski, a'ight?" He laughed slightly, trying to present a friendly image. Wait. When did _he _start caring? Automatically, he blamed it on his human genetics. Stupid Jones family being at least semi-decent people... "Not gonna ask for much. Clean home, food, y'know? 'Sides, what would an angel want to do in here?"

Arthur's eyes teared up a bit, wincing at the hand on his head. The pain was dying down at least, just not completely. Dried blood had already started to stick to his hair, although he could still feel some trickle down slowly. Sniffling, he put his cup back down. "Should I... um, start right now?" He squirmed, wiping his eyes before any tears fell.

"If ya feel up to it." Biting his lip, Alfred got up, turning to inspect the cut. Well. That was... Huh. "Y'alright, bruh? Didn't mean to hurt ya _that _badly..." Well, he'd meant to hurt him, but- well, now he wished he hadn't. Maybe having a pet did that to people. "Yer gonna need a collar, first thing's first, of course. Got a colour ya particularly like?"

Arthur tensed. "I-I'm fine..." he said, obviously still in pain. He moved his head away from Alfred's hands, still nervous about what he might do. it's not like he _hated _him for almost bashing his skull in, he was just sensitive. "Green," Arthur said, answering the devil's second question. "Why do I need a collar?"

Alfred grabbed Arthur's ear, not hard enough to pinch, but hopefully enough to discourage the angel from moving away. A flicker of irritation passed along his face. "Ya need a collar to prove yer mine, of course. I don't wanna fight off other devils tryin' ta claim ya, and I'm sure ya don't wanna be in the middle of a fight, right?" He began shifting the hair away from the cut, trying to see the full extent of the wound. Head wounds always bled a lot... Maybe it wasn't too bad.

"H-hey, wait-!" Arthur squeaked, shutting his eyes as his ear was grabbed. "Don't touch it...! Ah..." He whimpered, squeezing his eyes tighter with tears forming in the corners. "I-Is it bad?" He never liked it when people messed with his hair; it made him irritated. But he guessed it was okay, since it was for an important cause...

Alfred snorted lightly, removing his hand from Arthur's ear to rub his shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing fashion. "Calm down, 'kay? Now that yer my pet, I can rationalize you followin' me, meaning I won't hurt ya again." He continued to inspect it, trying to be as gentle as possible. "Ain't too bad, I think- can't ya heal it? Yer an angel, right? Iunno 'bout you, but I regrew my tail, so..."

With a sigh, Arthur flinched more as his hair was touched. "I-I think I can... let me try," He rummaged through his messenger bag and pulled out his wand, twirling it once to make it glow. His other hand reached up to find out where his cut was. Arthur recoiled when he touched Alfred's hand, but quickly put it back and transferred his wand into his right hand.

There was a soft twinkle of light and Arthur's hair reverted back to normal. He patted the back of his head, relieved to not feel any more pain. But he still wasn't sure. "Did... did I fix it?"

Alfred gave a nod, running his finger along where the cut had been. "Nope, nothin' there, broski. Yer fine now." He tried to smile reassuringly, moving away. Alright. Time to stop being nice. He got up, opening a cupboard and rummaging through the collars there until he'd gotten one in a nice dark green colour, heading back over and slipping it around Arthur's neck. "I'll get a pendant or whatchamacallit later. Any preferences on that as well?"  
"N-no, it's fine..." Arthur said, looking down at the collar that was put on him. Was he seriously going to go through with this? He could've ran away when he had the chance, but no, he didn't do that. He sighed, tugging at his collar as if it was too tight. God, did he have to wear this twenty four seven? It was quite uncomfortable, yet it did match his eyes...

Alfred's eye twitched at the clear signs of irritation, gritting his teeth as he snatched it off. "Honestly. No appreciation. See, now, this is why I rarely bother to have more than one-night stands." Straightening up, he decided to take his anger out on the chair he'd previously been sitting on- thank goodness it wasn't too pricy, or even really all that fancy. The devil inspected it, head tilting to the side before he raised his foot, stomping on it. Hard. The legs buckled, splintering, as the seat split in half, crumpling to the ground. "No appreciation at all," he spat. "Nothing but anger is what I get. See, a _chimera _woulda been more grateful at the collars- I spend time digging through corpses of friends 'n whatnot, of creatures I find, and then all I get is..." He continued on like that, slowly stomping the wood into splinters, rather unsure of why he was so pissy at the moment.

Arthur winced, rubbing his neck as the collar was yanked off him. Wait, did he do something to upset him? But how...? "Um... A-Alfred, did I-" He jumped upon hearing splitting wood, watching the chair the devil destroyed. He definitely made him mad, didn't he? Swallowing nervously, Arthur lightly grasped Alfred's arm, hoping he'd at least calm down. "Did I do something wrong?"

In the process of dragging his nails down his face- in hindsight, not a very good idea, considering the fact his nails were sharp- one of Alfred's eyes snapped open, revealing a pupil that was little more than a single line in blue. He forced himself to grin, trying to calm himself. Maybe this was why devils weren't supposed to mess around with angels for too long... It left him on edge. Or maybe he was tired. "Oh, nothin', ya did nothin' wrong. I mean, ya just seem like ya hate me, right now, and everything that I do. Not like I purposely chose the largest green collar I had- of which I don't have very many, ya know- and it's not like I haven't even heard a single 'thanks'- considering that I took you in, gave you what protection I could offer by making you my pet, ya know, kinda _not killing you the moment we met_. Whatever. Anyways, that offer's retracted, and this hero's gonna go rest." He yanked his arm from Arthur's grip, stalking to a door and sliding into the room behind it, which was presumably his bedroom. Next time, he decided, he definitely wouldn't do so much with so little sleep.

Arthur frowned. He never knew he was acting like that, and now he felt bad about it. As he was absently going to apologize, he noticed that Alfred had removed his arm from his grasp and disappeared into one of the rooms, leaving Arthur to just stand there like an idiot. "W-wait, where are you..." He bit his lip, refusing to cry or sniffle. He hated being alone...

Sighing, Arthur fought back his tears and slunk to the couch, where he sat down. He didn't know what to do, now that Alfred had left him by himself. He _did_ feel quite tired, though. Before he knew it, Arthur had fallen asleep soundly, grasping the pillow he had earlier. Now... what was tomorrow going to be like?


End file.
